BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Asbestos: Imports

John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what checks are undertaken to prevent the direct or indirect importation of manufactured products containing asbestos.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 2739) prohibit the importation of asbestos or any product containing it unless allowed by an exemption. Customs declarations for consignments from non EU countries brought into free circulation are checked by HM Revenue and Customs who select for further scrutiny those declarations using a commodity code indicating that asbestos may be present. Inquiries are undertaken to ascertain if asbestos is, in fact, present and if any such goods qualify for an exemption or must be detained. For indirectly imported goods, such as those already in free circulation inside the EU, the single market means that import control checks were dependent on the first member state which the goods entered.

Corgi: Finance

Frank Field: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he is taking to monitor the use of unspent public funds allocated to Corgi.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	No such steps have been taken because the gas installer registration scheme operated by CORGI Gas Registration was financed through registration fees. However, Ministers have sought a view from the company about how, having now ceased this function, it intends to comply with its Memorandum of Association which requires any funds remaining after winding up costs to be transferred to the CORGI Trust or another charity with similar objectives to the company. As at 31 March 2008, the accounts of CORGI Gas Registration showed that surplus funds from unspent registration fees were held by the company as "retained surplus" in the sum of £3,456,740.

Fossil Fuels: Government Assistance

Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which fossil fuel energy projects the Export Credits Guarantee Department is supporting; in which country each project is situated; which UK companies are in receipt of support; what type of plant is being supported in each case; what the  (a) start and  (b) completion dates are for each project; and how much is being provided to each.

Ian Pearson: The following table lists relevant case details where ECGD has a contingent liability arising from the support it is providing. In the majority of instances, this support takes the form of a guarantee given to a bank or syndicate of banks in respect of a loan made to an overseas buyer in order to enable it to finance the purchase of supplies of goods and services from persons carrying on business in the United Kingdom. In the remaining instances, ECGD has provided insurance to a person carrying on business in the UK in respect of loss arising in relation to either a contract for the supply of goods or services to an overseas buyer or an investment in an overseas project. The contractual periods are best estimates based on data held electronically by ECGD. The amounts now at risk are generally lower than the original amounts shown, due to payments having been made under the guaranteed loans or insured contracts.
	'Fossil fuel projects' include oil and gas transportation, coal, oil and gas extraction projects' power generation and energy projects which involve the use of fossil fuels but exclude petrochemical projects.
	
		
			  Country  UK e xporter  Project  Detailed description (w here available)  Original level of support provided (£ )  Liability s tart date (est.)  Contract completion d ate (est.)  Product t ype 
			 Indonesia NEI Power Projects Ltd. Combined Cycle Power Plant  £36,647,273 December 1994 December 2001 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 India Parsons Power Generation Sys Ltd. Kakinada Power Station 208 MW gas fired power station £7,544,748 February 1995 October 1997 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Russian Federation SNC-Lavalin UK Limited Volgograd Refinery  £24,559,680 November 1997 November 2000 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Indonesia Allen Power Engineering Limited Power Stn Extension Supply & installation of 11 diesel generating sets £18,955,088 December 1997 December 2000 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Turkey Allen Power Engineering Limited Bilkent  £6,799,523 October 1998 September 1999 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Venezuela (1)— Oil and Gas Project  £50,668,873 (1)— (1)— Overseas investment insurance/EXIP insurance 
			 South Africa Kellogg Brown & Root Energy Services Limited Mossgas Field Development Drilling of wells and provision of subsea production transport & processing systems £50,101,747 November 1999 October 2000 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Philippines ABN Amro Bank NV San Lorenzo Gas Power 500MW gas power station at Batangas £44,382,802 March 2000 September 2005 Overseas investment insurance 
			 Dominican Republic Motherwell Bridge Engineering Limited San Pedro Power Station Conversion of oil power station to gas fired power station £15,783,542 April 2000 February 2002 Project finance guarantee 
			 Iran (Islamic Republic of) Skanska Construction UK Limited Tabas Coal Mine Coal mine £29,524,244 March 2001 June 2005 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Algeria Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Limited Pipeline Project Supply of pumping and generating sets for the OZ2 Pipeline £22,282,064 October 2001 October 2003 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Brazil MAN B&W Diesel Limited 4 x Diesel Generating Sets Supply and installation of generating sets £6,884,401 November 2001 December 2002 SCF guarantee 
			 Israel Alstom Power Limited Refurb of Existing Power Station Low emission boiler and converter £7,094,427 March 2002 October 2003 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Turkey Alstom Power Plants Ltd. Coface Reins Relating to 2x160 MLO power station at Can £7,262,428 April 2002 February 2004 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Nigeria M W Kellogg Limited Lng Project Addition of trains 4 and 5 to existing LNG plant £119,033,808 December 2002 September 2005 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Algeria Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Limited Pipeline Project Supply of turbine generator sets for the OZ2 Pipeline £23,061,936 September 2003 September 2005 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Brazil Diamond Offshore Drilling (UK) Limited P52 Oil Platform Drilling offshore exploration wells/charter of an offshore drilling unit £42,767,276 January 2004 February 2004 Project finance guarantee 
			 Azerbaijan BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited BTC Piepline Project Oil pipeline £56,354,403 February 2004 August 2006 SCF guarantee 
			 Iran (Islamic Republic of) Salzgitter Mannesmann (UK) Limited South Pars Phases 9 and 10 Steel-related products for the downstream development of a gas field £12,630,693 July 2004 July 2008 SCF guarantee 
			 Iran (Islamic Republic of) Man Limited South Pars Phases 9 and 10 Mechanical, piping and electrical engineering equipment for the downstream development of a gas field £32,529,092 July 2004 July 2008 SCF guarantee 
			 Iran (Islamic Republic of) Doncasters Middle East Limited Turbine Blade Technology Provision of services and tooling to refurbish turbine generator blades. £14,373,935 August 2004 March 2006 SCF guarantee 
			 Kazakhstan Kellogg Brown & Root Limited Ali Bekmola Oil Field Development Oil field services £6,839,754 November 2004 December 2004 SCF guarantee 
			 Mexico Odebrecht Oil and Gas Services Limited Living Quarters On Oil Platform  £6,189,505 November 2004 December 2004 SCF guarantee 
			 Brazil Invsat Limited P52 Oil Platform Full telecommunications package £1,318,153 October 2005 October 2007 SCF guarantee 
			 Brazil Koch Chemical Technology Group Limited P52 Oil Platform Vacuum deaeration equipment £2,099,502 October 2005 October 2007 SCF guarantee 
			 Brazil Rolls-Royce Power Engineering Plc P52 Oil Platform Power generation equipment £26,695,937 October 2005 October 2007 SCF guarantee 
			 Brazil VWS Westgarth Limited P52 Oil Platform Sulphate reduction equipment £6,488,282 October 2005 October 2007 SCF guarantee 
			 Korea, Republic of Alstom Power Conversion Limited Shin Wolsuing Power Stn.  £1,127,299 January 2006 January 2009 EXIP insurance 
			 Turkey Brush Electrical Machines Limited 50MW Generators Sets  £684,163 March 2006 May 2006 Buyer credit guarantee 
			 Mexico SLP Engineering Limited KMZ Oil Field Platform Accommodation platforms £12,468,774 June 2006 January 2008 SCF guarantee 
			 Nigeria Gentec Energy Plc 5MW Gas Fired Power Plant  £7,891,229 May 2008 June 2009 SCF guarantee 
			 Nigeria Gentec Energy Plc 12.75MW Power Stn. and gas Plant  £13,669,924 September 2008 September 2009 SCF guarantee 
			 (1) Information withheld to protect the commercial interests of the company and ECGD

Members: Correspondence

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 25 November 2008 on the downturn in the construction industry.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 20 April 2009
	I responded to the hon. Member on 20 April.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Care Proceedings

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children have been subject to  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four,  (e) five,  (f) six,  (g) seven,  (h) eight,  (i) nine,  (j) 10 and  (k) more than 10 care orders.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Department.
	We collect information on the number of children that are subject to a care order. However we do not collect information on the number of care orders granted for each child.

Children in Care

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much on average it cost for a child under the age of five years to be looked after by  (a) a local authority and  (b) foster parents in the latest period for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: The Department of Health's Information Centre published the latest figures on costs per child for looked after children. However information is not broken down by age therefore we cannot provide a complete response.
	General costs per child for looked after children can be found in the publication 'Personal Social Services Expenditure (PSSEX1 return) and Unit Costs: England 2007-08', which can be accessed via the link below.
	http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/social-care/adult-social-care-information/personal-social-services-expenditure-and-unit-costs:-england-2007-08

Children in Care

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children have been in local authority care homes in  (a) Leeds West constituency,  (b) Leeds Metropolitan District and  (c) England in each year from 1997.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of children who were in local authority care homes in  (a) Leeds, West constituency and  (b) Leeds metropolitan district is not collected centrally. The number of children who were placed in children's homes by Leeds local authority and  (c) by all local authorities in England, in each year since 2000, are shown in the table.
	In 2000, a new coding system was introduced. For years 1997 to 1999 it was found that the results of the analysis carried out could not accurately identify the number of children who were looked after exclusively in children's homes.
	
		
			  Children looked after at 31 March who were placed in children's homes( 1,2,3,4) .  Years ending 31 March 2000 to 2008 .  Coverage: England and Leeds local authority 
			  Number 
			   England  Leeds 
			 2000 6,400 160 
			 2001 6,100 140 
			 2002 6,000 140 
			 2003 6,000 125 
			 2004 5,900 140 
			 2005 5,600 130 
			 2006 5,300 125 
			 2007 5,200 115 
			 2008 5,200 125 
			 (1) Source: SSDA903 return on children looked after. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (3) Figures account for children's homes only and exclude residential settings not subject to Children's Homes regulations. (4 )Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials.

Children: Databases

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which private companies have been contracted to work on the  (a) development and  (b) implementation of the ContactPoint database in each year since 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Since 2005 the Department has contracted with Capgemini UK plc for the design, and subsequently for the build and test, and hosting and support of the ContactPoint database; and with Capita Learning and Development to deliver training and deployment services associated with the implementation of ContactPoint to users.
	The Department has also contracted with PA Consulting and WS Atkins as prime contractors to provide client-side consultancy services to support the development and implementation of the ContactPoint project.
	Furthermore, the Department has contracted with a number of other suppliers for specialist consultancy and other ancillary services to support the set up and operation of ContactPoint system and project.

Children: Databases

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of the most recent penetration test of the ContactPoint database; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: It would be inappropriate and against the very stringent security measures we have established to make public the results of penetration tests of ContactPoint.

Children: Databases

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether practitioners will be able to access the ContactPoint database remotely; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Practitioners will be able to access ContactPoint remotely (i.e. from locations other than local authority, health service or national partner organisations premises) only via secure remote access solutions authorised and provided by those organisations and compliant with the ContactPoint security policy. Technical security measures prevent access from unsecured wireless broadband or public locations such as internet cafes and wireless "hotspots".

Children: Databases

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps have been taken to ensure that users of ContactPoint will not be able to save information from the database onto a portable storage device or laptop computer; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: ContactPoint has been purposely designed so that users are not able to download information from the database onto removable media such a portable storage device or a laptop computer.

Children: Protection

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many serious case reviews have been received by his Department in each year since their introduction, broken down by local authority; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what serious case reviews received by his Department had been sent by each local authority since 1 January 2007; and on what date each was received.

Beverley Hughes: Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) are asked to provide an anonymised copy of each full Serious Case Review (SCR) to the Department for Children, Schools and Families as soon as possible after the publication of the executive summary. This is to inform biennial overview reports which analyse the key findings from SCRs taken as a whole and identify the implications for policy and practice. Officials follow up any outstanding SCRs to ensure that biennial overview reports are based on as full a set of SCRs as possible.
	The latest published biennial overview report for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2005 notes that 161 Serious Case Reviews were included in that study.
	The next biennial overview report, covering the period 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2007 and to be published this spring, will draw on around 190 Serious Case Reviews. A further 118 Serious Case Reviews have been received more recently and will be taken into account in future research as appropriate.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) of 22 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 2030-31W, on departmental carbon emissions, if he will make it his policy for his Department to adopt the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management programme.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Carbon Trust completed a review of our headquarters estate in 2006 as part of an energy management assessment programme. Their findings have been adopted within our carbon management action plans and we report back to the Carbon Trust annually on progress.
	The decision not to adopt the Carbon Trust's carbon management programme has been reconsidered. The Carbon Trust carbon management programme would duplicate systems and programmes already in place within our Sustainable Operations Environmental Management System.

Departmental Computers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many laptop computers have been provided to  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in his Department and its predecessor in each year since 2005; and at what cost.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information as requested is not held centrally within the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). To respond fully would involve an information collection exercise which would exceed the recommended disproportionate cost threshold.

Departmental Energy

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps have been taken by his Department to improve the thermal efficiency of its buildings in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children, Schools and Families commissioned a report from the Carbon Trust to investigate the thermal efficiency of its buildings. This established that, in our current estate, steps to address thermal efficiency were not economically viable and other energy efficiency investments represented far better value for money to the Treasury. We do however re-visit this recommendation annually to reassess its viability and include thermal efficiency in any major estate projects.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the amount his Department paid to Sir Roger Singleton for his services as chief adviser on the safety of children in respect of the financial year 2008-09.

Beverley Hughes: Sir Roger Singleton's appointment to the role of Chief Adviser on the Safety of Children took effect from 1 April 2009. He received no remuneration for his services as Chief Adviser in the financial year 2008-09.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent on  (a) the purchase of and  (b) bills for (i) BlackBerrys and (ii) other mobile telephones for (A) Ministers, (B) special advisers and (C) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information as requested is not held centrally within the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). To respond fully would involve an extensive information collection exercise which would exceed the recommended disproportionate cost threshold.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) BlackBerrys and  (b) other mobile telephones have been provided to (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information as requested is not held centrally within the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). To respond fully would involve an extensive information collection exercise which would exceed the recommended disproportionate cost threshold.

Family Nurse Partnership Programme

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how the £30 million allocated to the future expansion of the Family Nurse Partnership under the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 will be allocated to each area; whether the evaluation of the Family Nurse Partnership pilots has been completed; in which areas the pilots are being held; and to which other areas he plans to extend the pilot scheme.

Ann Keen: I have been asked to reply.
	The £30 million allocated to the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) under the comprehensive spending review 2007 will contribute to local costs in up to 70 primary care trust and local authority test sites. It also supports extensive evaluation, the provision of family nurse training, licensed programme materials and implementation advice and guidance. In addition, it is funding a number of development projects to support adaptation of the programme to the English context.
	The FNP is currently being tested in 30 areas and a further 20 test sites will start operation in 2009-10, bringing the total to 50(1). The Child Health Strategy "Healthy lives, brighter futures", published on 12 February 2009, set out plans for further expansion of the FNP, to 70 test sites by 2011, with a view to rolling out this support to the most vulnerable first time young mothers across England over the next decade, if research findings are positive. A copy of the strategy has already been placed in the Library.
	An evaluation of the first 10 test sites is being conducted by the university of London, Birkbeck. A first year report was published in July 2008, with promising early findings. A copy has been placed in the Library. We hope to publish a report of the second year by this summer. In addition, a randomised controlled trial is starting this month in 18 sites, to test the impact of FNP compared with usual services.
	(1) 10 FNP sites started delivery in 2007-08: Barnsley, Derby City, County Durham and Darlington, Manchester, Berkshire East, Southwark, South East Sussex, Somerset, Tower Hamlets, Walsall. 20 sites started in 2008-09: Blackpool, Calderdale, Hastings and Rother, Islington, Milton Keynes, Nottingham City, Plymouth, Southampton, Stockport, Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham South, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Coventry, Cumbria, Hull, Lambeth, Leeds, Liverpool, Northamptonshire and Sunderland.
	20 further sites will start operation in 2009-10: Doncaster, Ealing, Kirklees, Medway, Sandwell, Sheffield, Swindon, Telford and Wrekin, Birmingham East and North, Bradford and Airedale, Cambridgeshire, Gateshead Tyne and Wear, Knowsley, Lewisham, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Wirral, Dudley, Waltham Forest and Hammersmith and Fulham.

GCSE

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  in how many schools less than 30 per cent. of eligible pupils achieved  (a) five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics,  (b) a GCSE at grades A* to C in (i) mathematics, (ii) English literature, (iii) English language, (iv) physics, (v) chemistry and (vi) French, German and Spanish in the last 12 months, broken down by decile of income deprivation based on school location;
	(2)  in how many schools less than 30 per cent. of eligible pupils achieved a grade A* to C in  (a) mathematics,  (b) physics,  (c) English literature,  (d) French, Spanish and German,  (e) chemistry and  (f) English language in the last 12 months, broken down by decile of income deprivation affecting children indices.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	A wide range of information on the attainment of pupils in schools is published in the achievement and attainment tables which are available in the Libraries.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of pupils who were  (a) in care and  (b) not in care gained five or more GCSEs at A* or A including English and mathematics in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of pupils who were  (a) in care and  (b) not in care did not gain five or more GCSEs at any grade in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many and what percentage of pupils who were  (a) in care and  (b) not in care did not gain one or more GCSEs at any grade in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many and what percentage of pupils who were  (a) in care and  (b) not in care did not gain one or more C grades or above at GCSE in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(5)  how many and what percentage of pupils who were  (a) in care and  (b) not in care did not achieve an A* or A in any GCSE in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: The OC2 data collection collects information on a range of outcomes for looked after children from local authorities. This information has been published in the Statistical First Release "Outcome Indicators for Children Looked After, Twelve months to 30 September 2007—England" (SFR 08/2008), which is available on the Department's website via the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000785/index.shtml
	Information on attainment in schools at Key Stage 4 for children looked after continuously for 12 months compared to all children can be found in table C. This shows the following:
	number of pupils in year 11,
	the number and percentage who sat at least one GCSE or GVNQ,
	the number and percentage who achieved at least 1 GCSE A*-G,
	the number who achieved at least five GCSEs at grades A*-G and
	the number who achieved at least five GCSEs at grades A*-C.
	As the OC2 is an aggregate data collection, these figures cannot be broken down into any further detail for example by subject, number of GCSEs taken or grade.

General Certificate of Secondary Education: Gifted Children

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils registered as gifted and talented gained five or more GCSEs at grade A or A* in the latest year for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In 2008, 39,754 pupils in maintained schools registered as gifted and talented gained five or more GCSEs at grade A or A* or equivalent at the end of KS4.

Israel: Anniversaries

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2009,  Official Report, column 358W, on Israel: anniversaries, if he will place in the Library a copy of the speech he made at the Salute to Israel celebration; who drafted the speech; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: A copy of the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families' speech to the 'Salute to Israel' celebration is available on the Department's website:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/speeches/search_detail.cfm?ID=805
	The Secretary of State is responsible for the content of his speeches.

National Curriculum Tests

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of pupils  (a) eligible and  (b) not eligible for free school meals were not entered for Key Stage 1 tests in each of the last three years, broken down by reason for non-entry.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Since 2005, schools have only been required to report teacher assessment results at KS1. The information requested is therefore not available.

National Curriculum Tests

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) inquiry into issues raised by the Sutherland Report, as referred to in the QCA statement of 1 April 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The results of the internal inquiry referred to in the previous answer are reflected in the published statements. The detailed findings of the inquiry are confidential, contain personal data and are subject to legal privilege, and cannot be published.

Performing Arts

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1248-49W, on performing arts, what the cost was to his Department of engaging actors, musicians and other performers supporting the Department's initiatives and campaigns since June 2007.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 31 March 2009
	Since its inception, in June 2007, the Department has spent a total of £85,205, excluding VAT, paid to actors, musicians and performers for appearance in some of the Department's marketing campaigns.

Pupil Exclusions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils who were eligible for free school meals and had non-statemented special educational needs were given  (a) fixed-term and  (b) permanent exclusions in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Exclusions data were matched to pupil characteristics for the first time in 2005/06, but for secondary schools only. In 2006/07 this was extended to primary and special schools. Therefore exclusions related to free school meal eligibility are not available for 2004.
	Information on exclusions for the 2007/08 school year is expected to be published in the summer.

Pupil Exclusions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils who were eligible for free school meals, had statemented special educational needs and were children in care were given  (a) fixed-term and  (b) permanent exclusions in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Currently available sources of data on children in care do not provide sufficiently complete data to answer this question.
	Information on children in care is usually sourced from the Looked After Children database but this cannot be used to answer this question.
	The OC2 data collection collects information on a range of outcomes for looked after children from local authorities. This information has been published in the Statistical First Release "Outcome Indicators for Children Looked After, Twelve months to 30 September 2007—England" (SFR 08/2008), which is available on the Department's website via the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000785/index.shtml
	This includes some information on permanent exclusions. Information on fixed period exclusions is not covered by the OC2 data collection.
	Information on both pupils in care and fixed period exclusions are collected via the School Census. However the School Census does not cover all looked after children; information is not collected for pupils in alternative provision, including pupil referral units, FE colleges, voluntary provision and those not in education or training. In addition, the School Census may undercount the number of looked after children in schools.
	The Department is working on a project to match the Looked After Children database to the National Pupil Database. If successful this would enable us to produce analysis for looked after children on a range of attainment indicators and characteristics, including information on special educational needs and exclusions.

Pupil Exclusions: Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils who were eligible for free school meals and had special educational needs were given  (a) fixed-term and  (b) permanent exclusions in each year since 1997.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Data on pupil characteristics linked to exclusions were collected in the School Census for the first time in 2005/06, but were collected from secondary schools only. In 2006/07 data were also collected from primary and special schools. The special educational needs status can change between periods of exclusion and the Department is currently working on a methodology for the analysis of this information.

Pupil Referral Units

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which pupil referral units  (a) opened and  (b) closed in 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The numbers of Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) opened and closed in 2008 were 32 and 25 respectively.
	The following two lists name the relevant PRUs:
	 Pupil Referral Units opened in 2008
	Ashford and Shepway Alternative Curriculum PRU
	Canterbury and Swale Alternative Curriculum PRU
	Dartford and Gravesham
	Maidstone and Malling Alternative Curriculum PRU
	Thanet and Dover Alternative Curriculum PRU
	Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks Alternative Curriculum PRU
	Nexus Centre
	The Gateway Centre
	Springboard Centre
	Maple Medical PRU
	Short Course Centre
	Chace Extended Learning Centre
	Clifton and Grosvenor Centre
	Southwark Inclusive Learning Service KS3, KS4 and Sils+
	The Beechwood Centre
	The Phoenix Centre
	The Lilford Centre
	Pupil Support Centre (West)
	Lanchester PRU
	KS1 Pupil Referral Unit
	KS2/3 PRU
	The Cheadle Centre
	School Returners/Young Mums Provision
	Primary Centre
	Secondary Centre
	The Ashwood Centre
	The Bridge
	Bradford District PRU
	Church Lane Pupil Referral Unit
	Unity Learning Centre
	The Rowan Centre
	St. Mary's Centre
	 Pupil Referral Units closed in 2008
	Tinshill Learning Centre
	Charles Edward Brooke Refugee Centre Co Charles Edward Brooke CofE School
	Centre 4
	Beckett Road Centre
	Hexthorpe Centre
	Young Parents Centre
	The Long Sandall Centre
	Greengates Primary Pupil Support Centre
	Hospital and Interim Tuition Service
	Young People Out of School Project
	The Grosvenor Centre
	The Clifton Centre
	The Education Support Centre
	Summit Centre
	Park Centre
	Mill Road Pupil Referral Unit, Ipors Centre
	Cornwall Hospital Education Service
	Greasbrough Centre
	The Bridge
	Sunderland Pupil Referral Unit
	Southwark Inclusive Learning Service Plus (Sils+)
	The Willows Centre Pupil Referral Unit
	Alternative Provision PRU
	The Gerard Pupil Referral Unit
	Link Education Centre (Orchard Lodge)
	 Source
	EduBase

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex received free school meals in each of the last 10 years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is shown in the table, together with the numbers of children eligible for free school meals.
	
		
			  Maintained nursery and primary schools(1) and state-funded secondary schools( 1,2) : pupils taking( 3)  and known to be eligible for free school meals: As at January each year in East Sussex local authority and Eastbourne parliamentary constituency 
			  East Sussex local authority 
			   Maintained Nursery and Primary Schools  State-funded Secondary Schools 
			   No. on roll( 4)  No. of pupils taking free school meals  % taking free school meals  No. known to be eligible for free school meals  % known to be eligible for free school meals  No. on roll( 4)  No. of pupils taking free school meals  % taking free school meals  No. known to be eligible for free school meals  % known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 1999 38,540 4,620 12.0 5,930 15.4 26,360 2,580 9.8 3,760 14.3 
			 2000 38,430 4,460 11.6 5,760 15.0 27,130 2,660 9.8 3,760 13.9 
			 2001 38,270 4,250 11.1 5,640 14.7 27,810 2,500 9.0 3,640 13.1 
			 2002 38,050 4,030 10.6 5,250 13.8 28,090 2,310 8.2 3,370 12.0 
			 2003 37,760 3,980 10.5 5,140 13.6 28,610 2,330 8.2 3,210 11.2 
			 2004 37,120 3,760 10.1 4,850 13.1 29,070 2,200 7.6 3,290 11.3 
			 2005 36,980 3,640 9.8 4,630 12.5 28,820 2,160 7.5 3,160 11.0 
			 2006 36,290 3,490 9.6 4,230 11.7 28,710 2,310 8.0 2,980 10.4 
			 2007 35,790 3,090 8.6 3,980 11.1 28,520 2,020 7.1 2,780 9.7 
			 2008 35,480 3,200 9.0 3,940 11.1 28,160 2,200 7.8 2,660 9.5 
		
	
	
		
			  Eastbourne parliamentary constituency 
			   Maintained Nursery and Primary Schools  State-funded Secondary Schools 
			   No. on roll( 4)  No. of pupils taking free school meals  % taking free school meals  No. known to be eligible for free school meals  % known to be eligible for free school meals  No. on roll( 4)  No. of pupils taking free school meals  % taking free school meals  No. known to be eligible for free school meals  % known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 1999 7,030 960 13.6 1,260 17.9 4,650 600 13.0 900 19.2 
			 2000 7,120 980 13.8 1,290 18.1 4,880 650 13.2 880 17.9 
			 2001 7,060 960 13.6 1,270 18.0 5,210 590 11.4 830 15.9 
			 2002 7,110 900 12.6 1,170 16.4 5,340 570 10.7 720 13.5 
			 2003 7,210 920 12.7 1,200 16.7 5,570 550 9.8 780 14.0 
			 2004 7,050 890 12.6 1,120 15.9 5,670 540 9.5 770 13.7 
			 2005 7,010 840 11.9 1,100 15.7 5,690 500 8.8 760 13.3 
			 2006 7,000 830 11.9 1,000 14.3 5,740 560 9.7 760 13.3 
			 2007 6,950 730 10.5 960 13.8 5,790 480 8.2 710 12.3 
			 2008 6,940 770 11.1 900 13.0 5,660 580 10.3 690 12.2 
			 (1) Includes middle-schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies (3) Number of pupils who took a free school meal on the day of the January census (4) Prior to 2003, this includes all full-time and part-time pupils who are solely registered, excluding boarding pupils. Due to underlying changes in data collection , this coverage was extended to also include all pupils with dual (main) registration and boarding pupils, from 2003.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of pupils who may be eligible for free school meals but whose parents have not applied for them; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information on the number of pupils who may be eligible for free school meals but do not submit a claim is not collected by the Department.
	The latest information on free school meals is published in Table E38, B9 and B20 of the Statistical First Release 09/2008: Pupil Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England: January 2008, this can be found at this website;
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000786/index.shtml

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in  (a) Braintree,  (b) Essex and  (c) England received free school meals in each year since 1997.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is shown in the table, together with the numbers of children eligible for free school meals. The numbers receiving free school meals on Census day are regarded as fewer representatives than the numbers eligible.
	
		
			  Maintained nursery, maintained primary and state-funded secondary schools: school meal arrangements—as at January each year 
			   Maintained nursery and primary schools( 1)  State-funded secondary schools( 1,2) 
			   Number on roll( 3)  Number of pupils taking free school meals  Percentage taking free school meals  Number known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals  Number on roll( 3)  Number of pupils taking free school meals  Percentage taking free school meals  Number known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals 
			  Braintree   
			 1997 8,840 1,100 12.5 1,350 15.3 4,860 470 9.7 620 12.8 
			 1998 9,160 920 10.1 1,190 13.0 4,880 470 9.7 630 12.9 
			 1999 9,320 850 9.1 1,090 11.7 4,990 430 8.7 580 11.6 
			 2000 9,230 780 8.4 1,060 11.5 5,180 410 7.9 570 10.9 
			 2001 9,350 740 7.9 940 10.0 5,390 400 7.5 590 10.9 
			 2002 9,680 750 7.7 970 10.0 5,590 390 6.9 570 10.1 
			 2003 9,690 700 7.3 910 9.3 5,660 410 7.2 530 9.3 
			 2004 9,590 730 7.6 940 9.8 5,870 400 6.7 540 9.2 
			 2005 9,450 690 7.3 830 8.8 5,980 400 6.7 530 8.8 
			 2006 9,360 680 7.3 800 8.6 6,070 350 5.8 450 7.4 
			 2007 9,280 690 7.4 780 8.3 6,040 340 5.6 420 70 
			 2008 9,290 670 7.2 740 8.0 5,960 310 5.1 390 6.6 
			
			  Essex   
			 1997(4) 136,680 18,670 13.7 23,110 16.9 97,620 9,240 9.5 12,540 12.8 
			 1998(4) 139,410 17,300 12.4 21,570 15.5 98,590 9,000 9.1 12,280 12.5 
			 1999(5) 113,130 11,910 10.5 15,480 13.7 82,190 6,620 8.1 9,050 11.0 
			 2000(5) 113,220 11,380 10.0 14,530 12.8 84,220 6,550 7.8 8,830 10.5 
			 2001(5) 112,740 10,320 9.2 13,180 11.7 86,250 6,110 7.1 8,600 10.0 
			 2002(5) 112,450 9,830 8.7 12,790 11.4 87,800 6,050 6.9 8,200 9.3 
			 2003(5) 111,440 9,790 8.8 12,400 11.1 89,500 6,000 6.7 7,990 8.9 
			 2004(5) 110,430 9,790 8.9 12,340 11.2 90,690 6,280 6.9 8,160 9.0 
			 2005(5) 108,690 9,580 8.8 11,790 10.8 90,910 6,040 6.6 7,770 8.5 
			 2006(5) 107,390 9,430 8.8 10,800 10.1 91,100 5,840 6.4 7,590 8.3 
			 2007(5) 105,860 9,130 8.6 10,530 9.9 90,530 5,430 6.0 7,030 7.8 
			 2008(5) 105,250 8,890 8.4 9,970 9.5 89,680 5,360 6.0 6,730 7.5 
			
			  England   
			 1997 4,479,450 775,740 17.3 944,590 21.1 3,052,280 384,150 12.6 556,250 18.2 
			 1998 4,508,920 731,580 16.2 891,050 19.8 3,084,820 370,580 12.0 540,250 17.5 
			 1999 4,507,660 690,320 15.3 853,020 18.9 3,134,470 370,510 11.8 527,340 16.8 
			 2000 4,481,680 671,490 15.0 821,520 18.3 3,194,590 370,930 11.6 526,740 16.5 
			 2001 4,451,220 631,640 14.2 783,510 17.6 3,740,130 355,700 9.5 512,320 13.7 
			 2002 4,405,640 616,630 14.0 754,510 17.1 3,277,100 356,440 10.9 488,490 14.9 
			 2003 4,350,260 604,910 13.9 731,610 16.8 3,328,730 353,000 10.6 482,920 14.5 
			 2004 4,293,180 608,760 14.2 741,150 17.3 3,353,360 356,970 10.6 483,880 14.4 
			 2005 4,243,110 568,350 13.4 717,230 16.9 3,349,220 341,810 10.2 473,740 14.1 
			 2006 4,187,630 556,180 13.3 670,340 16.0 3,347,500 336,940 10.1 458,690 13.7 
			 2007 4,148,390 544,370 13.1 658,910 15.9 3,325,620 327,110 9.8 445,070 13.4 
			 2008 4,127,840 538,460 13.0 641,490 15.5 3,294,580 326,480 9.9 433,140 13.1 
			 (1) Includes middle-schools as deemed. (2) Includes City Technology Colleges and Academies. (3) Prior to 2003, this includes all full-time and part-time pupils who are solely registered, excluding boarding pupils. Due to underlying changes in data collection, this coverage was extended to also include all pupils with dual (main) registration and boarding pupils, from 2003. (4) Before local authority reorganisation. (5) After local authority reorganisation.  Source: School Census

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what proportion of pupils in  (a) Stoke-on-Trent and  (b) England received free school meals in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of pupils in  (a) Stoke-on-Trent and  (b) England ineligible for free school meals who are classified as living below the poverty line;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of pupils in Stoke-on-Trent who are eligible for free school meals and do not claim them.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The available information relates to January 2008 and is shown in the table:
	
		
			  Nursery and primary schools( 1) , secondary schools( 2)  and special schools( 3) : School meal arrangements—Year: January 2008 (Final); Coverage: England 
			   Number of pupils on roll( 4)  Pupils taking free school meals( 5)  Percentage taking free school meals  Pupils known to be eligible for free meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free meals 
			  Nursery and primary schools( 1)  
			 England 4,127,840 538,460 13.0 641,490 15.5 
			 Stoke on Trent 21,227 4,640 21.9 5,289 24.9 
			   
			  Secondary schools( 2)  
			 England 3,294,580 326,480 9.9 433,140 13.1 
			 Stoke on Trent 13,629 1,948 14.3 2,561 18.8 
			   
			  Special schools( 3)  
			 England 90,690 24,520 27.0 28,680 31.6 
			 Stoke on Trent 517 169 32.7 208 40.2 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes CTCs and academies (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (4) Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils. (5) The number of pupils recorded as taking a free meal on the Census date in January.  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census 
		
	
	The information has been taken from Statistical First Release 09/2008: Pupil Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England: January 2008 which can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000786/index.shtml
	No information is collected on the number of pupils who may be eligible for free school meals but do not submit a claim nor of children who may be living in poverty but are not eligible to receive free school meals.

Regional Ministers: Travel

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether the Permanent Secretary of his Department has authorised expenditure on travel costs for the parliamentary assistant to the Minister for the North West in accordance with the circumstances envisaged in the Cabinet Secretary's letter to Permanent Secretaries of 2 December 2008.

Beverley Hughes: Since guidance was issued by the Cabinet Secretary on 2 December 2008, the permanent secretary has not authorised any expenditure on travel costs for the parliamentary assistant to the Minister for the North West. Prior to that, the Department paid transport costs for the parliamentary assistant to attend an event in November in the Minister's place when she was unable to attend due to parliamentary business.

Schools: Children In Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 753-54W, on schools: children in care, in which local authority each school is located.

Beverley Hughes: The requested information has been placed in the Library.

Special Educational Needs: Disadvantaged

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in each decile of income deprivation affecting children indices had statements of special educational needs in  (a) Essex,  (b) Southend,  (c) Thurrock and  (d) Castle Point in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information for the years 2004 and 2008 is given in the following tables.
	Information for each of the last five years can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  (a) Essex local authority 
			   Number of resident children with a statement of special educational needs( 2)  Percentage of resident children with a statement of special educational needs 
			  IDACI decile of pupil residence( 1)  2004  2008  2004  2008 
			 0-10% most deprived 189 199 3.5 3.9 
			 10-20% 404 465 3.2 3.9 
			 20-30% 648 709 2.9 3.3 
			 30-40% 602 705 2.6 3.1 
			 40-50% 589 684 2.5 3.0 
			 50-60% 483 595 2.0 2.5 
			 60-70% 521 683 1.9 2.5 
			 70-80% 375 479 1.7 2.1 
			 80-90% 428 519 1.7 2.1 
			 90-100% least deprived 274 354 1.6 2.1 
			 Total 4,513 5,392 2.2 2.7 
			 (1) Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index 2007 at super output area level. (2) Includes solely registered pupils only.  Note: Pupil residency figures include only those pupils with a valid postcode.  Source: School Census. 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Southend local authority 
			   Number of resident children with a statement of special educational needs( 2)  Percentage of resident children with a statement of special educational needs 
			  IDACI decile of pupil residence( 1)  2004  2008  2004  2008 
			 0-10% most deprived 120 127 4.3 4.6 
			 10-20% 150 165 4.2 4.8 
			 20-30% 133 146 3.6 4.1 
			 30-40% 137 129 3.2 3.2 
			 40-50% 73 76 2.7 2.8 
			 50-60% 50 58 1.7 2.1 
			 60-70% 39 44 1.4 1.6 
			 70-80% 35 27 2.1 1.6 
			 80-90% 17 12 2.1 1.6 
			 90-100% least deprived 15 14 1.5 1.6 
			 Total 769 798 2.9 3.2 
			 (1) Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index 2007 at super output area level. (2) Includes solely registered pupils only.  Note: Pupil residency figures include only those pupils with a valid postcode.  Source: School Census. 
		
	
	
		
			  (c )  Thurrock  local authority 
			   Number of resident children with a statement of special educational needs( 2)  Percentage of resident children with a statement of special educational needs 
			  IDACI decile of pupil residence( 1)  2004  2008  2004  2008 
			 0-10% most deprived 53 66 3.1 3.6 
			 10-20% 81 92 3.6 4.3 
			 20-30% 143 156 3.9 4.1 
			 30-40% 106 119 3.7 4.1 
			 40-50% 130 146 3.4 3.9 
			 50-60% 61 76 2.8 3.6 
			 60-70% 55 85 2.3 3.7 
			 70-80% 68 78 2.3 2.6 
			 80-90% 38 51 2.2 2.8 
			 90-100% least deprived 14 19 2.1 2.4 
			 Total 749 888 3.1 3.6 
			 (1) Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index 2007 at super output area level. (2) Includes solely registered pupils only.  Note: Pupil residency figures include only those pupils with a valid postcode.  Source: School Census. 
		
	
	
		
			  (d )  Castle Point  constituency 
			   Number of resident children with a statement of special educational needs( 2)  Percentage of resident children with a statement of special educational needs 
			  IDACI decile of pupil residence( 1)  2004  2008  2004  2008 
			 0-10% most deprived 12 14 3.1 4.2 
			 10-20% 18 19 3.3 4.0 
			 20-30% 27 31 3.3 4.6 
			 30-40% 33 31 2.9 2.8 
			 40-50% 76 81 2.7 3.0 
			 50-60% 38 48 1.9 2.5 
			 60-70% 41 54 1.9 2.6 
			 70-80% 47 62 1.8 2.6 
			 80-90% 29 34 2.3 2.6 
			 90-100% least deprived n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Total 321 374 2.3 2.9 
			 n/a = Not applicable. None of the least deprived decile of super output areas lies within Castle Point constituency. (1) Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index 2007 at super output area level. (2) Includes solely registered pupils only.  Note: Pupil residency figures include only those pupils with a valid postcode.  Source: School Census.

Teachers: Crimes of Violence

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of the effects of levels of violence and intimidation from pupils towards teachers; and what steps the Government is taking to reduce these levels.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Any violence against school staff is totally unacceptable.
	We do not collect data specifically on levels of violence and intimidation from pupils towards teachers, but do regularly collect data on the number of permanent exclusions for physical assault on an adult and verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult.
	In 2006/07, there were 8,560 fixed period and 680 permanent exclusions in state funded secondary schools for physical assault on an adult, and 81,770 fixed period and 780 permanent exclusions were for verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult. This is in a system with about 7 million pupils and about 750,000 staff. These figures suggest that schools are taking a firm line on violence, and that the overwhelming majority of schools are orderly places.
	In April, we plan to launch guidance on preventing and tackling the cyberbullying of school staff. We are also promoting development of Safer School Partnerships with the police and other agencies and have made clear that we want these to become the norm rather than the exception in schools.
	We are also planning to introduce a new duty on schools in Regulations to record all incidents of physical or verbal abuse towards school staff. This new duty will encourage more widespread and effective reporting, appropriate responses and prevention work. It will also send out a clear message to school staff that the issue will be taken seriously and acted upon. The duty will be included in wider Regulations which, subject to successful passage through Parliament, will require schools to record incidents of bullying among pupils. We are planning to launch a full public consultation on draft Regulations this summer.

Truancy

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the absence rate in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in each decile of area deprivation was in 2007-08, broken down by reason for absence; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  (a) Pupil( 1)  absence rate( 2)  in primary schools( 3)  by reason and IDACI( 4)  decile of school location, 2007/08 
			   IDACI Decile (0-10 per cent. = most deprived) 
			  Reason of absence  0-10  10-20  20-30  30-40  40-50  50-60  60-70  70-80  80-90  90-100 
			 Illness 3.47 3.54 3.44 3.29 3.18 3.07 2.94 2.81 2.67 2.58 
			 Medical/dental appointments 0.28 0.29 0.28 0.28 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.26 0.25 0.23 
			 Religious observance 0.27 0.16 0.09 0.06 0.05 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 
			 Study leave 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Traveller absence 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 
			 Agreed holiday 0.49 0.58 0.65 0.70 0.73 0.76 0.75 0.76 0.77 0.75 
			 Agreed extended holiday 0.05 0.05 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01 
			 Excluded 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 
			 Other authorised 0.38 0.36 0.32 0.29 0.28 0.26 0.24 0.21 0.20 0.20 
			 Total authorised(5) 5.28 5.28 5.08 4.90 4.75 4.61 4.44 4.27 4.14 3.98 
			
			 Holiday not agreed 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.07 0.07 0.06 
			 Arrived late 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.07 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.02 
			 Other unauthorised 0.65 0.51 0.39 0.29 0.23 0.19 0.15 0.13 0.10 0.08 
			 No reason yet 0.25 0.20 0.17 0.13 0.11 0.10 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 
			 Total unauthorised(5) 1.20 0.96 0.77 0.60 0.51 0.43 0.35 0.30 0.26 0.23 
			
			 Total overall(5) 6.47 6.24 5.85 5.50 5.25 5.04 4.78 4.57 4.40 4.21 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Pupil( 1)  absence rate( 2)  in secondary schools( 3,6)  by reason and IDACI( 4)  decile of school location, 2007/08 
			   IDACI Decile (0-10 per cent. = most deprived) 
			  Reason of absence  0-10  10-20  20-30  30-40  40-50  50-60  60-70  70-80  80-90  90-100 
			 Illness 3.61 3.77 3.85 3.91 3.77 3.84 3.71 3.72 3.63 3.50 
			 Medical/dental appointments 0.42 0.40 0.43 0.43 0.41 0.44 0.43 0.42 0.41 0.43 
			 Religious observance 0.20 0.08 0.09 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 
			 Study Leave 0.07 0.07 0.15 0.18 0.20 0.18 0.22 0.21 0.26 0.31 
			 Traveller absence 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 
			 Agreed holiday 0.32 0.37 0.38 0.38 0.38 0.41 0.39 0.39 0.41 0.37 
			 Agreed extended holiday 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 
			 Excluded 0.19 0.23 0.20 0.17 0.18 0.16 0.15 0.16 0.14 0.13 
			 Other authorised 0.71 0.76 0.65 0.57 0.56 0.52 0.54 0.51 0.51 0.51 
			 Total authorised(5) 5.94 6.11 6.04 6.05 5.93 5.89 5.82 5.74 5.72 5.59 
			
			 Holiday not agreed 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.08 0.09 
			 Arrived late 0.06 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.07 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.06 0.08 
			 Other unauthorised 1.39 1.35 1.21 1.01 0.86 0.72 0.80 0.72 0.67 0.63 
			 No reason yet 0.44 0.48 0.36 0.33 0.31 0.31 0.28 0.29 0.20 0.28 
			 Total unauthorised(5) 2.15 2.18 1.85 1.62 1.43 1.26 1.33 1.28 1.08 1.13 
			
			 Total overall(5) 8.09 8.29 7.89 7.67 7.37 7.15 7.15 7.01 6.79 6.73 
			 (1) Pupils aged between 5 and 15 at the start of the academic year. Excludes boarders. (2) Percentage of possible sessions missed based on absence totals as reported by reason. (3) Includes middle schools as deemed. (4) Income Deprivation Affecting Children Indices. (5) Includes absence returned as either authorised or unauthorised totals but not broken down by reason. (6) Includes maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies.  Source: School Census (aggregate of 2007/08 Autumn, Spring and Summer terms) 
		
	
	It is widely recognised, as the data demonstrate, that absence rates increase in areas of high deprivation. Our aim is to reduce all forms of absence and through the National Strategies we are providing intensive support and challenge to those local authorities with high persistent absence, ensuring that all of the targeted schools in their authority are implementing agreed actions to reduce their absence rates.

Truancy: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many days of truancy were recorded in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in the London Borough of Bexley in each of the last three years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information is collected on unauthorised absence.
	Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy. Information collected by DCSF on absence is a more comprehensive measure of children's missed schooling.
	Information about pupil absence in maintained primary and secondary schools in Bexley local authority has been provided for the years 2006-07 and 2007-08. In 2005-06 the School Census started to collect attendance data at individual pupil level from secondary schools only.
	
		
			  Primary and state-funded secondary schools( 1)  pupil absence by type of school 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08: Bexley local authority 
			   Primary schools( 1)  State funded secondary schools( 1,2) 
			   Percentages of half days missed( 3)  Percentages of half days missed( 3) 
			   Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 2005-06 n/a n/a n/a 7.15 1.52 8.66 
			 2006-07 4.54 0.70 5.24 6.56 0.70 7.78 
			 2007-08 4.45 0.81 5.26 5.64 0.81 6.95 
			 n/a = Not available (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies (3) The number of sessions missed due to authorised/unauthorised/overall absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. 
		
	
	The latest available published information on absence, which includes information for local authorities, is published as SFR 03/2009 'Pupil Absence in Schools in England,
	including Pupil Characteristics: 2007-08' at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000817/index.shtml.

Truancy: Fines

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many parents have been fined as a result of their children not attending school in  (a) Southampton,  (b) Test Valley borough and  (c) the ceremonial county of Hampshire for each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Ministry of Justice collects data for England and Wales on prosecutions brought against parents under the Education Act 1996 for the offence under s444(1) of failing to secure their child's regular attendance at school; and for prosecutions under s444(1A), the aggravated offence of knowing that their child is failing to attend school regularly. It is possible, because of the way courts record data that some data are collected under the more general heading of various offences under the Education Act 1996.
	The information on the number of parents sentenced and given fines as sentence in the Hampshire area, which includes Southampton, is detailed in the following table. The Ministry of Justice only collects information on prosecutions based on police force regions.
	The Department also collects and publishes data on penalty notices (fines) issued by local authorities in England to parents for not securing their child's regular attendance at school. The figures for Hampshire and Southampton local authorities for the last four school academic years since the data collection began are detailed in the following table.
	Data are only collected on local authority basis.
	
		
			  Adults sentenced for child truanting offences( 1)  in the Hampshire police force area, 2003-07 
			Fined 
			 2003 Parent failing to secure their child's regular attendance at school 35 
			  Parent knowing that their child is failing to attend school regularly failing without reasonable justification to cause him or her to attend school 0 
			 2004 Parent failing to secure their child's regular attendance at school 47 
			  Parent knowing that their child is failing to attend school regularly failing without reasonable justification to cause him or her to attend school 1 
			 2005 Parent failing to secure their child's regular attendance at school 17 
			  Parent knowing that their child is failing to attend school regularly failing without reasonable justification to cause him or her to attend school 0 
			 2006 Parent failing to secure their child's regular attendance at school 17 
			  Parent knowing that their child is failing to attend school regularly failing without reasonable justification to cause him or her to attend school 0 
			 2007 Parent failing to secure their child's regular attendance at school 5 
			  Parent knowing that their child is failing to attend school regularly failing without reasonable justification to cause him or her to attend school 1 
			 (1) These data are extracted on the principal offence basis where offender is found guilty and convicted.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: QMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice Ref: Sent(OMSAS)107-09 (07/04/2009) 
		
	
	
		
			  School academic year—Penalty notices for non attendance  England  Hampshire LA  Southampton LA 
			 1 September 2004 to 31 July 2005 3,843 32 0 
			 1 August 2005 to 1 September 2006 12,150 99 16 
			 2 September 2006 to 31 August 2007 14,625 83 256 
			 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008 18,291 82 215

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Pay

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on salaries for her Department's staff working on matters relating to housing in each of the last five years.

Sadiq Khan: Details of staff salaries are recorded on the Department's payroll but cannot be disaggregated to identify staff working on matters relating to housing in each of the last five years without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	Please note that the following table shows salaries for staff in CLG's housing group. It does not include legal/planning staff who may spend a percentage of their staff or time working on housing related issues, cross-cutting departments who are interlinked with housing and staff who work on other general housing 'related' issues who are not within one of the above directorates.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Housing Delivery and Homelessness 3,394,518 3,672,511 4,006,181 3,923,237 4,959,424 
			 Housing Management and Support 1,829,219 2,029,641 2,268,074 1,911,041 2,855,991 
			 New Homes and Sustainable Development 1,327,855 1,443,538 1,603,200 1,924,569 2,805,768 
			 Total 6,551,592 7,145,690 7,877,455 7,758,847 10,621,183

Regional Planning and Development: South East

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to publish the South East Plan.

Sadiq Khan: Our intention to publish the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East remains as previously stated to the hon. Member, that is publication in the spring.

Regional Spatial Strategies

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to paragraph 6.5 of her Department's document entitled Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill: policy document on regional strategies, if she will place in the Library a copy of the business planning guidance issued to regional assemblies by her Department.

John Healey: I have done so.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Internet: Marketing

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when his Department plans to respond to the proposals for a system of self-regulation of all types of online media marketing communications referred to in the Byron Review Action Plan.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 20 April 2009
	The Advertising Association's Digital Media Group has been examining this issue and Professor Byron recommended that progress be reviewed when the conclusions of the assessment of the impact of the commercial world on children's well-being are received. I understand that the Group continues to work on a practicable and effective way forward to address the concerns identified in the Byron Review about those online marketing communications not already covered by the Committee of Advertising Practise (CAP) Code. We look forward to their securing the necessary agreements across industry to resolve any outstanding issues.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the  (a) purpose and  (b) budget of the works in 10 Downing Street with Westminster City Council planning application reference 09/00619/LBC is.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, West (Mr. Watson) to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1303W.

Death: Clostridium

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many deaths were caused by clostridium difficile infection in patients aged  (a) under 65 years and  (b) 65 years and over in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell ,  dated 22 April 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths were caused by Clostridium difficile infection in patients aged (a) under 65 years and (b) 65 years and over in each of the last 10 years. (269146)
	The attached table provides the number of deaths where Clostridium difficile was recorded as the underlying cause of death for persons aged (a) under 65 years and (b) 65 years and over, in England and Wales, for 1999 and 2001 to 2007 (the latest year available). Figures for 1998 and 2000 are not available.
	Although Clostridium difficile is defined by the Health Protection Agency as a healthcare associated infection, it is not possible to state whether the deceased was a patient at the time of death, or where the infection was acquired.
	
		
			  Table 1. Deaths with an underlying cause of Clostridium difficile( 1) , England and Wales( 2) ,1999 and 2001-07( 3, 4) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   Under 65 years  65 years and over 
			 1999 18 513 
			 2001 17 676 
			 2002 19 735 
			 2003 29 939 
			 2004 35 1,194 
			 2005 62 2,001 
			 2006 93 3,397 
			 2007 126 3,930 
			 (1 )Identified using the methodology described in Office for National Statistics: Report: Deaths involving Clostridium difficile: England and Wales, 2001-2005. Health Statistics Quarterly 33, 71-75. (2) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (3) All deaths in England and Wales are coded by the Office for National Statistics according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The Tenth revision (ICD-10) has been used since 2001. In the Ninth revision of the ICD (ICD-9) there are no specific codes that would allow deaths mentioning Clostridium difficile to be easily identified. Figures for 1998 and 2000 are therefore not available as ICD-9 was used in these years. Deaths registered in 1999 were coded to both ICD-9 and ICD-10 as part of a special study to compare the two ICD revisions, and have therefore been used to give an additional year of data on deaths involving Clostridium difficile. (4) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the  (a) energy consumed by,  (b) energy cost of and  (c) carbon dioxide emissions from each category of IT device in each division of his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: In 2007-08 the Cabinet Office used 929,000 kWh of electricity at a cost of £61,000 for its IT services. This equates to carbon dioxide emissions of 401 tonnes. The main category of ICT devices and their energy consumption was:
	
		
			   kWh  C0 2  (tonne) 
			 Desktops 420,000 181 
			 Printing 195,000 84 
			 Data Centre 314,000 135 
		
	
	In June 2007, my Department became part of the public sector flex, a framework for the provision of shared ICT services. Flex provides a number of energy saving measures which are estimated to save the Cabinet Office 84,000 kWh of electricity, equivalent to 36 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, during its first year of operation.
	The Cabinet Office does not hold separate energy consumption figures of IT services prior to 2007-08.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps his Department has taken to address the effect on levels of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department of its ICT purchases since the publication of the Greening Government ICT Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The Cabinet Office has already implemented the following steps:
	Reducing the number of printers, replacing them with multi-function devices using green printing options.
	Increasing average server capacity to over 50 per cent.
	Switching monitors to standby after five minutes of inactivity.
	Shutting down PCs after office hours and at weekends.
	Enabling active power management on desktops.
	Ensuring that equipment that is no longer required by the department, can be re-used by other organisations such as charities.
	Starting to replace existing servers with storage area networking devices that implement storage virtualisation
	The Cabinet Office is implementing public sector flex, a framework offering a shared ICT service open to all public bodies. Under the terms of the contract with the Cabinet Office.
	The lifecycle of all end user devices has been extended to five years
	The number of PCs and laptops will be reduced to as close to one per person as possible. Internal charging regimes will incentivise the rationalisation.
	Thin client technology will be used with low-power consumption CPUs.
	Services will be moved to a data centre using server technology that complies with the recommendations in the Greening Government ICT Strategy.

Departmental Lost Property

Paul Holmes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the cost of replacing property lost or stolen from the Prime Minister's Office was in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow, East (John Mason) on 17 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1058-59W.

Departmental Surveys

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1447-48W, on departmental staff surveys, if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of the most recent staff survey undertaken by the Cabinet Office.

Tom Watson: A copy of the results of the most recent staff survey undertaken by the Cabinet Office is published on the civil service website at the following address:
	http://beta.civilservice.gov.uk/Assets/co2007_tcm6-2069.xls
	and will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Energy

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he next expects a capability review of  (a) Ofgem and  (b) the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to be undertaken.

Tom Watson: The Cabinet Office currently has no plans to carry out Capability Reviews of either organisation.

Lobbying

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he plans to respond to the first Report of the Public Administration Committee of Session 2008-09 on Lobbying: access and influence in Whitehall.

Tom Watson: The Report from the Public Administration Select Committee was published on 5 January. The Government will respond in due course. Before responding, the Government have felt it important to consult a range of interested parties, including different individuals and organisations engaged in lobbying activity and organisations that can offer advice on the experience of other countries, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Billing

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how long on average the Electoral Commission took to make payments to external organisations upon receipt of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the average time taken to pay invoices during the financial year 2008-09 was 10.2 days.

Electoral Register

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what discussions the Electoral Commission has had with Government Departments following the announcement that individual electoral registration will be introduced in Great Britain.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that since 2 March 2009 its staff have attended three meetings with Ministry of Justice officials to discuss the introduction of individual electoral registration (IER) in Great Britain. In addition, the Chair of the Commission, Jenny Watson, has discussed the Government's proposals with the Minister of State for Justice, the right hon. Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills).

Electoral Register: Northern Ireland

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what assessment the Electoral Commission made of the efficiency of the introduction of individual electoral registration in Northern Ireland.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has undertaken a number of assessments of the impact and efficiency of individual electoral registration (IER) in Northern Ireland since its introduction in 2002. These include: an assessment of the Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 during the first year of its operation; the commissioning of a series of 12 research reports assessing key aspects of IER in Northern Ireland; and, in 2007, research to measure the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the electoral register in Northern Ireland.
	The Commission further informs me that it has also undertaken an assessment of IER in the context of its reports on the administration of the 2003 and 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly elections and on the combined 2005 UK Parliamentary and local government elections in Northern Ireland.
	All of these reports are available from the Commission's website at:
	www.electoralcommission.org.uk.

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission whether the Electoral Commission plans to place in the Library a copy of the  (a) Labour party's and  (b) Liberal Democrat party's submissions to its most recent consultation on the funding of political parties.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that its most recent consultation on the funding of political parties took place in 2006 as part of a contribution to Sir Hayden Phillips' review of that subject.
	That consultation consisted of a series of round-table meetings with representatives from UK political parties, including the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, on issues relating to election expenditure.
	The Commission further informs me that it did not invite written submissions as part of the consultation. However, copies of the Commission's notes of the round-table discussions have been placed in the Library.

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 84W, on political parties: finance, what the timetable is for the completion of a final impact assessment.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that on 2 April 2009 it announced that, following detailed discussions with parties, it has decided not to introduce mandatory new standard requirements for party statements of accounts in 2010, as originally planned.
	The Commission has said that it will continue to develop proposals for mandatory requirements and will liaise with the parties to develop a new timetable for this project. It will issue an impact assessment when it consults on the detail of its proposals. A copy of the Commission's statement has been placed in the Library of the House.

Redundancy Pay

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 935-6W, on redundancy, whether the redundancy payments exceeded the minimum amounts which the Electoral Commission was obliged to pay by statute.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that redundancy payments are made in accordance with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. Payments under the scheme exceed the minimum statutory amounts.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bluetongue Disease: Vaccination

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has placed an order for supplies of blue tongue vaccine BTV1.

Jane Kennedy: No orders have been placed for supplies of BTV-1 vaccine. DEFRA continues to closely monitor the disease situation in Europe and is working with experts and vaccine manufacturers to consider possible disease incursion scenarios so we are able to deploy proportionate responses if the threat of a BTV-1 disease incursion increases significantly.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on animal health in counties in England on the border with Wales should the Welsh Assembly Government decide to pursue a strategy of culling to reduce the level of bovine tuberculosis.

Jane Kennedy: The announcement by the Welsh Minister on 24 March of an Intensive Action Pilot Area involving badger culling has no immediate implications for England; however, we will follow its implementation with interest.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider the merits of culling badgers in England to reduce levels of bovine tuberculosis in the English herd; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has considered the wide range of evidence surrounding the role badger culling could play in the control of bovine TB and he announced the Government's policy on 7 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 1153-1158.
	The policy is that no licences will be issued for culling badgers for the purpose of preventing the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle, although the Government remain open to the possibility of revisiting this policy under exceptional circumstances, or if new scientific evidence were to become available.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effects of his Department's badger vaccination scheme on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle.

Jane Kennedy: Vaccinating badgers will reduce the risk of badgers catching the disease and therefore reduce the risk of transmission from badgers to cattle. However, badgers are not the only transmission route for TB so cattle will still be at risk from TB eg through cattle-to-cattle and other transmission routes.

Departmental Buildings

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what buildings are owned or operated by his Department under a private finance initiative (PFI) arrangement; and which companies are involved with each such PFI arrangement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Department occupies a single office building in Cambridge under a leasing agreement which operates under a private finance initiative structure.
	The Department has retained the freehold ownership of the land, granted a long lease to the provider and taken an operating lease of the office building which is shared with other public sector occupiers.
	The current operator is Eastbrook Facilities Ltd., a subsidiary of Infrastructure Managers Ltd.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for how long his Department has followed the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management programme.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA signed up to The Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme in October 2006. Since then, DEFRA has gained accreditation for its entire estate (core and executive agencies) to the Carbon Trust sponsored Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme in July 2007 and The Carbon Trust Standard for its office estate in June 2008.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in his Department  (a) were disciplined and  (b) had their employment terminated as a result of a poor sickness record in each of the last 12 months.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Formal warning and dismissals for poor attendance are conducted in line with DEFRA's "Unsatisfactory Attendance Policy and Procedures" which are available to staff via DEFRA's intranet.
	During the past year (April 2008 to March 2009) 74 people have been disciplined and contracts with eight terminated as a result of poor sickness record within core DEFRA and its agencies.
	The following table breaks this down for each of the past 12 months.
	
		
			   Discipline  Termination 
			  2008:   
			 April 5 1 
			 May 7 0 
			 June 6 0 
			 July 9 1 
			 August 4 0 
			 September 6 0 
			 October 7 2 
			 November 6 1 
			 December 3 1 
			
			  2009:   
			 January 8 1 
			 February 7 1 
			 March 6 0 
			
			 Total 74 8

Departmental Manpower

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) permanent,  (b) agency and  (c) temporary staff on contracts of (i) up to three months, (ii) between three and six months, (iii) between six and 12 months and (iv) 12 months or more there are in each directorate of his Department.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The number of permanent and temporary staff (short-term appointments) in DEFRA is shown in the table. All figures are headcount. The number of staff in core DEFRA is broken down by group as the directorates no longer exist in the Department's organisational structure.
	Information on the numbers of employment agency staff is not held centrally and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			Temporary staff 
			Contract length  
			   Permanent staff  Up to three months  Between three and six months  Between six and 12 months  12 months or more  Total 
			  DEFRA group   
			 Environment and Rural 614 2 4 1 1 8 
			 Finance and Commercial 489 6 1 5 2 14 
			 Food and Farming 596 3 0 1 0 4 
			 Legal and Strategic Human Resources 248 1 0 1 0 2 
			 Strategy and Evidence 443 5 2 4 1 12 
			 DEFRA total 2,390 17 7 12 4 40 
			
			  Executive agencies   
			 Animal Health 1,622 26 27 11 0 64 
			 Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 548 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency 840 2 8 15 0 25 
			 Marine and Fisheries Agency 198 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Rural Payments Agency 3,448 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Veterinary Laboratories Agency 1,307 6 2 6 0 14 
			 Veterinary Medicines Agency 149 0 0 0 0 0 
			
			 DEFRA and agencies total 10,502 51 45 44 5 145

Departmental Official Hospitality

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) alcohol and  (b) food in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: From information held centrally, the Department's expenditure on food for the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 1,296,450.76 
			 2007-08 1,407,220.50 
			 April 2008 to February 2009 1,270,359.75 
		
	
	These figures are based upon a combined total expenditure on food and beverages, and the ratio of food to beverage is 55 per cent. to 45 per cent. A detailed analysis of the breakdown of the expenditure on food and beverages, and for each of the last five years, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The core Department's financial system has no expenditure category for alcohol. The core Department's catering services provider does not hold a license to serve alcohol. As a general rule, expenditure on alcohol for hospitality purposes is not allowed. Were alcohol to be purchased for hospitality purposes it should be acquired through formal purchase order, or through the Government Procurement Card, both of which methods are subject to formal authorisation procedures. All expenditure including that on hospitality has to be incurred in accordance with the principles of managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Public Consultation

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments for  (a) polling and  (b) other services his Department has made to (i) Deborah Mattinson and (ii) Opinion Leader Research Ltd since 31 December 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table shows what payments DEFRA has made for polling and other services to Opinion Leader Research, co-owned by Deborah Mattinson, since December 2007.
	
		
			   Project title  Total cost £ (ex VAT) 
			 2007-08 Public understanding of sustainable consumption of food 12,735 
			 2008-09 Citizens summit 7,500

Departmental Recruitment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2009,  Official Report, column 913W, on departmental recruitment, what estimate he has made of the annual salary cost of  (a) permanent,  (b) temporary and  (c) agency staff recruited by his Department in each year since 2005-06.

Huw Irranca-Davies: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Visits Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much expenditure was incurred in respect of overseas visits which  (a) he,  (b) other Ministers in his Department and  (c) his Department's senior officials undertook in 2008.

Huw Irranca-Davies: From information held centrally, for the period January 2008 to December 2008 inclusive, the information requested is  (a) £23,313.10  (b) £49,534.00 and  (c) £352,819.41 respectively.
	Since 1999, the Government have published a list of all overseas travel by Cabinet Minsters costing over £500. Information for the financial year 2007-08 was published on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 102WS and for the first time, included details of overseas visits undertaken by all Ministers. All travel by Ministers is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and by officials in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code. Ministers and officials are required to make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local authorities charge for the provision of bags for the collection of residual household waste.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 5 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1395W.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timetable is for the Waste and Resources Action Programme to end home compost bin subsidies.

Jane Kennedy: The Waste and Resources Action Programme stopped subsidising compost bins at the end of March 2009.

Flood Control: Finance

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on flood prevention in each year since 2000.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 20 April 2009
	DEFRA has overall policy responsibility for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England and funds most of the Environment Agency's flood related work.
	The following tables provide an analysis of Government funding to the Environment Agency for its flood risk management function between 2000-01 and 2007-08. The figures are based upon the annual report and accounts of the Environment Agency.
	Until 2004-05 the flood risk management function of the Environment Agency was funded primarily through a combination of grants from DEFRA for specific projects and levies on local authorities.
	Table 1 shows the funding provided to the Agency from the levies and capital grant.
	
		
			  Table 1: Local authority levies and capital grants 2000-01 to 2003-04 
			   £ million 
			 2000-01 235.0 
			 2001-02 248.9 
			 2002-03 285.6 
			 2003-04 309.8 
		
	
	Both forms of funding were largely replaced by Grant in Aid from DEFRA from 2004-05 onwards. Table 2 shows DEFRA Grant in Aid and also the remaining Local Levy Expenditure which is raised by county councils and unitary authorities.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  £ million 
			   Local Levy Expenditure 2004-05 to 2007-08  DEFRA Grant in Aid 2004/5 to 2007-08 
			 2004-05 13.0 355.6 
			 2005-06 19.7 420.6 
			 2006-07 28.8 419.2 
			 2007-08 20.4 438.9 
		
	
	The Environment Agency decides how best to use Grant in Aid to achieve outcomes agreed with Government.

Flood Control: Finance

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much is planned to be spent on coastal defences in 2009-10.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 20 April 2009
	The Environment Agency is responsible on behalf of DEFRA for administering capital grants to local authorities which promote and deliver coastal protection schemes.
	The grant allocation for 2009-10 for coastal protection schemes is £28 million.
	 Source
	Environment Agency Flood Defence Grant in Aid allocation process

Food: Exports

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for export refunds have been approved within the last 12 months for  (a) pigmeat,  (b) milk and milk products,  (c) poultry,  (d) eggs and  (e) beef and veal; and what quantity of each product was subject to refund.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 23 March 2009
	 The number of export refund applications, the amount paid and quantity of export refund for each livestock sector in the UK over the last 12 months can be found in the table:
	
		
			  Sector  Refund applications  Amount paid (£)  Refund quantity 
			 Eggs 156 152,010.51 24,222,688 
			 Poultry 180 11,512.59 1,550,506 
			 Pigmeat 420 200,346.33 1,105,228.84 
			 Beef and veal 0 0 0 
			 Milk and milk products 60 31,345.43 130,434.13 
			  Note: The quantity of export refunds for eggs and poultry is recorded as number of refunds, and the quantity for pigmeat and milk and milk products is recorded in kilograms.

Land Use

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on average how much and what proportion of land in England was designated as farmland in each decade since 1979.

Jane Kennedy: The following table shows the total area of land on registered agricultural holdings in England in each of the past five years since 1979, along with the proportion of English land covered by these holdings. The agricultural area does not include common grazing land as this is not solely owned by farmers.
	
		
			   Total agricultural area on holdings (000 ha)  % area of England on agricultural holdings 
			 1979 9,560.9 73.3 
			 1984 9,518.1 73.0 
			 1989 9,458.2 72.5 
			 1994 9,442.8 72.4 
			 1999 9,247.6 70.9 
			 2004 9,166.9 70.3 
			 2008 9,339.0 71.6 
			  Notes: 1. The area of England used throughout is 13.04 million hectares, taken from the 2001 Population Census. 2. The introduction of the single payment scheme in 2005 has lead to an increase in the number of registered holdings and hence, area. 3. The total agricultural area on holdings is taken from the annual June Survey of Agriculture.

Marine Environment: Nature Conservation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what scientific research his Department has evaluated on the percentage of marine habitats that should be protected within a Marine Protected Area network; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA and its conservation agencies have commissioned a total of 21 projects to inform the selection process for Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) and the establishment of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). An additional 20 projects have also been commissioned by the Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish Executive, and Scottish Natural Heritage. Further work has been commissioned by Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to look at issues of representativity and replication, and the usefulness of percentage habitat targets within an MPA network.
	A table providing further details on all known research projects relating to MCZ designation has been placed in the Library of the House. This list includes research occurring in Welsh and Scottish territorial waters, as well as collaborative research DEFRA has established with the devolved administrations on areas where there is mutual benefit to do so. In addition to the projects in the table, the JNCC is currently scoping further research.

Marine Environment: Nature Conservation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will include in his Department's Marine Protected Area strategy measures to introduce highly protected marine reserves; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government published a draft Marine Protected Area Strategy ('Delivering Marine Conservation Zones and European Marine Sites') for public consultation on 20 April. This makes clear the fact that we fully expect to designate Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) that will have a high level of protection for all, or part of, a designated area. The provisions in the Marine and Coastal Access Bill already allow for this.
	Ministers will be able to designate a range of MCZs requiring different levels of protection, determined according to the features we wish to protect and the evidence we have available. Sites requiring a high level of protection could include areas with rare or threatened species or habitats that are susceptible to human activities. In those instances where MCZs are designated with a higher level of legal protection, the DEFRA Secretary of State will be required to report to Parliament in 2012, and at least every six years thereafter, on the number of sites designated where licensable and fishing activities are prohibited, or significantly restricted.

Nature Conservation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if his Department will bring forward plans to introduce an ecologically coherent network; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: On 20 April DEFRA opened a consultation on a draft strategy document that will set out what we need to do to deliver the Government's commitment to build an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas. This network will consist of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) (to be established under the Marine and Coastal Access Bill) and European marine sites designated under the Birds and Habitats Directives.
	Design principles for European sites are established by European law but our aim for ecological coherence will be a national judgment based upon guidance being developed for the network. The draft strategy will be followed by a range of draft guidance (from DEFRA and statutory nature conservation bodies) that will provide the framework for identifying, selecting and designating MCZs.

Pollution: Rivers

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in reducing  (a) pollution in and  (b) water abstraction from English rivers since 2005.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table indicates the percentage of rivers in England which are of "good or better quality". Figures for 2008 are due to be published later this year.
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 Chemical quality 73.4 74.4 76.2 
			 Biological quality 71.4 72.1 72.4 
			 Phosphate 55.8 58.9 61.1 
		
	
	The total amount of water abstracted from all sources in England and Wales in 2005 was 57,757 megalitres (Ml) per day and 59,752 in 2006. Figures for 2007 will be available in July 2009. The Environment Agency manages abstraction within sustainable limits of the catchment.

Salmonella

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the incidence of salmonella entering the food chain.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA continues to work with key industry representatives to implement EC Regulation 2160/2003 on the control of Salmonella in primary production. This provides for the establishment of Salmonella National Control Programmes (NCPs) in all sectors of the poultry and pig industry. The overall objective of the NCPs is to protect public health through the detection and control of Salmonella of human health significance at the farm level. Regulation 2160/2003 sets a general framework for the NCPs which integrates:
	Minimum sampling requirements to verify the achievement of a reduction target.
	Relevant guides for good biosecurity and animal husbandry.
	Measures to be taken following the detection of Salmonella of human health significance.
	Three of the NCPs have already been implemented in the UK: the NCP for breeding flocks in 2007 and the NCP for laying flocks in 2008. The NCP for broiler flocks began earlier this year. Similar programmes will be introduced for turkeys next year and then fattening and breeding pigs.
	DEFRA has been able to report to the EU Commission that the breeding flock sector has met the requirements of the NCP including the reduction target during the first year of implementation. The NCPs for the layer and broiler sectors should also meet their respective targets.
	Although DEFRA leads on the NCPs, the advice and agreement of Food Standards Agency (FSA) officials was sought when developing an implementation strategy for the NCPs in primary production with industry representatives. FSA officials will also be closely involved in the implementation of the NCPs for pigs and turkeys. DEFRA has also collaborated with the FSA on the provision of guidance to farmers on hygiene management at farms, measures to prevent infections and biosecurity during the transport of animals.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to his Department has been of management of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) in  (a) the last 10 years and  (b) 2009 to date; and what area of land SSSIs covered in each period.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 20 April 2009
	We have funding information for Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) covering the last nine financial years (2000-01 to 2008-09 inclusive). This information is routinely collated and confirmed at the end of each financial year. The costs cover the funding of SSSI management by DEFRA, including its resourcing of Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission. The costs also include Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Agri-Environment schemes, but not the EU co-funded element.
	From 2000-01 to 2008-09 inclusive, the total cumulative cost of managing SSSIs was £339,895,000. During this period the SSSI area increased from 1,053,796 ha in 2000 to 1,077,086 ha in 2009. The total costs for the 2008-09 year are awaiting confirmation and collation, but we estimate these will be £56,750,000. We do not currently have this aggregated information broken down by quarter to specifically address the January to March 2009 period.

Squirrels

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on controlling the grey squirrel population since 2005.

Huw Irranca-Davies: "Grey Squirrels and England's Woodlands: Policy and Action" was published in January 2006 and this set out the role of the Forestry Commission and specific actions to be taken. These include researching new methods of control, advice on best practice, grants for woodland owners, supporting partnerships and applying best practice on the public forest estate. Implementation of the actions has resulted, for example, in collaboration on research into the potential use of immuno-contraception as a method for population control of grey squirrels. This is part of a larger DEFRA-led project looking at proving the concept of fertility control methods for a range of species.
	Grant schemes administered by the Forestry Commission, specifically for the control of grey squirrels and woodland management activities, in and around the designated red squirrel reserves in north England, totalled £265,384 between 2006-07 and 2008-09. On the public forest estate the Forestry Commission is concentrating its resources on its woodlands within the designated red squirrel reserves and surrounding buffer zones.
	Support of partnership and co-operative action has seen support worth £26,000 a year from the Forestry Commission and £15,000 a year from Natural England to the Save our Squirrels project. This is a £1.1 million three year project, started in 2006 to deliver advice to landowners, co-ordinating squirrel control in the red squirrel reserve buffer zones, promote grants, raising public awareness and gaining further funding for squirrel conservation work.
	In addition the Red Squirrel Protection Partnership, based in Northumberland was awarded a three year £148,000 grant in June 2006 from the Rural Enterprise Scheme to support the control of grey squirrels in the county to help protect the red squirrel reserves.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2009,  Official Report, column 2223W, on waste disposal: fees and charges, what guidance  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme has given to waste collection authorities on the issuing or levying of fines on households which put waste out at times other than those specified by the local authority.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA does not advise authorities on how or when to use specific powers but, in line with good practice, it expects authorities to use all the powers available to them proportionately and sensibly, hand in hand with effective communications and support for residents.

HEALTH

Cancer: Health Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Cancer Reform Strategy in tackling cancer in its first year of operation.

Ann Keen: The first annual report of the Cancer Reform Strategy (published in 2007), "Cancer Reform Strategy: Maintaining momentum, building for the future—first annual report", was published on 1 December 2008. The report highlights the considerable progress that has been made on the implementation of the Strategy. A copy of this report has already been placed in the Library.
	We will assess the wider impact of the Cancer Reform Strategy by looking at its effect, and that of the NHS Cancer Plan (published in 2000), on mortality rates over an extended period. Mortality rates in people under 75 have fallen by 17 per cent. between 1996 and 2005. This performance means that we are expected to meet our target of a reduction of at least 20 per cent. in cancer death rates in people under 75 by 2010 from the 1995-97 baseline rate.

Care Homes: Closures

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations were made by the Anchor Trust to his Department on the closure of its nursing care homes across the North of England in the last 12 months.

Phil Hope: We are informed that no such representations were made.

Care Homes: Drugs

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) boys and  (b) girls are known to have experienced medical complications arising from the administration of behaviour controlling drugs in care homes in the last 30 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

Clostridium: Elderly

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of clostridium difficile infection were reported in people aged 65 years and over in each NHS trust area in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available as the mandatory surveillance scheme in which acute trusts report all cases of  clostridium difficile infection in people aged 65 years and over began in January 2004. These data comprise all specimens processed by NHS acute trust laboratories, not just those from in-patients and include infections acquired in hospital and elsewhere.
	Data for each trust for the calendar years 2004 to 2007 are published on the Health Protection Agency's website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1216193834915
	The annual totals for England are:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2004 44,563 
			 2005 51,829 
			 2006 55,635 
			 2007 50,461 
		
	
	It should be noted that data are no longer published by calendar year. Data up to financial year 2008-09 will be available in July 2009.

Dental Services

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists in England have not met their units of dental activity allocation in each year since the new dental contract was introduced in April 2006.

Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.

Departmental Training

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on media training for each Minister in his Department in each of the last three years; how many sessions have been provided; and which organisations provided such training.

Ben Bradshaw: Training is provided to Ministers as necessary in order to carry out their duties effectively under the Ministerial Code.
	Information about media training sessions undertaken by previous Ministers is not held centrally. The training organised by the Department that has been undertaken by the current ministerial team during this period is listed as follows:
	Two media training sessions have been undertaken by Ann Keen, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, at a total spend of £6,600.
	Five media training sessions have been undertaken by Lord Ara Darzi, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, at a total spend of £9,500.
	All of the above training sessions were provided by Millbank Media. The figures given are exclusive of VAT.

Depressive Illnesses

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on psychological therapies for people with depression in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: No information is held centrally about how much the national health service has spent on psychological therapies for people with depression in each year since 1997.
	The Government have provided substantial new funding to increase services over the next three years:
	£33 million for 2008-09;
	a further £70 million to a total of £103 million in 2009-10; and
	a further £70 million to a total of £173 million in 2010-11.
	On 8 March 2009, my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced an additional £13 million to support a package of measures to help people who are distressed, depressed or anxious as a result of the economic downturn. These measures include a greater provision of talking therapies and a new network of employment support workers.

Health Services: Digital Technology

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the principles of digital inclusion are applied to mainstream health services.

Ben Bradshaw: Where digital services are offered to citizens, the Department is working to ensure no citizens are disadvantaged due to access to relevant technology. The Department is participating in the preparation of the cross-government Digital Inclusion Action Plan. The principal channel for tackling digital inclusion is through NHS Choices. In October 2008, NHS Choices launched a new Carers Direct hub on its site aimed at carers of people with disabilities and long-term conditions. NHS Choices is also developing an online training programme aimed at health information intermediaries, who can work with those who lack access to the internet. From April 2009, NHS Choices takes over the NHS Direct digital TV service on Freeview and will be developing this further as an access channel for non-internet users.

Health Services: Hemel Hempstead

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the changes in the levels of local demand for  (a) double-manned ambulances,  (b) emergency care assistants and  (c) community first responders following the closure of acute services at Hemel Hempstead hospital.

Phil Hope: As an operational matter, it is for the local national health service to commission urgent and emergency care services from local service providers with a view to meeting specific local demands. This provision of services can be delivered by a mix of providers, and by staff working in a range of roles. The particular mix of providers and roles can be expected to vary from area to area, but the local NHS is best placed to determine what is most appropriate in each case.

Health Services: Hemel Hempstead

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the likely effect on the time taken to transfer patients by ambulance to appropriate acute care facilities of the closure of acute services at Hemel Hempstead hospital.

Phil Hope: There is no recommended minimum or maximum travelling time, or distance, to healthcare facilities issued by the Department. However, regardless of the reconfiguration of services, there are national standards for the response time of ambulances. 75 per cent. of all ambulance category A (life-threatening) 999 calls should be responded to in eight minutes or less (95 per cent. in 19 minutes) and 95 per cent. of category B (serious) 999 calls should be responded to in 19 minutes or less, ensuring that appropriate, timely care is provided to patients at the scene.

Home Care Services: Standards

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to ensure that levels of care users of domiciliary care support services receive are consistent with the standard set by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The new integrated regulator of health and adult social care, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), took over from the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission and the Mental Health Act Commission on 1 April 2009.
	CQC is responsible for registering and inspecting all providers of domiciliary care. It has a wide range of enforcement powers under the Care Standards Act 2000. These include issuing notices requiring improvement within a specified time period, prosecuting providers for failing to provide proper care and even closing down a provider by cancelling its registration.
	From 2010, CQC will be introducing a new system of registration under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. This will give it additional powers to fine providers and suspend those which are not providing acceptable levels of care.

Hospitals: Infections

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients were screened for healthcare-acquired infections in  (a) the North West and  (b) England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many patients were treated for healthcare-acquired infections in  (a) the North West and  (b) England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Data on screening for health care associated infections are not collected centrally. The information requested on treatment is not collected centrally. The best available data are from the mandatory surveillance system, which covers methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections,  Clostridium difficile infections, glycopeptide-resistant enterococci bloodstream infections, and orthopaedic surgical site infections operated for the Department by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
	Data for England and North West of England respectively are provided in the following tables. Regional data are not available for surgical site infections.
	Since April 2001, all acute national health service trusts in England have been obliged to report all cases of bloodstream infections caused by MRSA. These data comprise all specimens processed by NHS acute trust laboratories, not just those from in-patients and include infections acquired in hospital and elsewhere. These data are only available by financial year.
	
		
			  Number of cases of bloodstream infections caused by MRSA 
			   Number of cases of bloodstream infections caused by MRSA 
			  April to March each year  England  North West England 
			 2003-04 7,700 975 
			 2004-05 7,233 1,016 
			 2005-06 7,096 1,031 
			 2006-07 6,383 936 
			 2007-08 4,448 670 
		
	
	All acute NHS trusts in England are obliged to report all cases of  Clostridium difficile ( C. difficile) infection in people aged 65 years and over since January 2004. These data comprise all specimens processed by NHS acute trust laboratories, not just those from in-patients and include infections acquired in hospital and elsewhere.
	
		
			  Number of cases of C. difficile infection in people aged 65 years and over 
			   Number of cases of C. difficile infection in people aged 65 years or over 
			   England  North West England 
			 2004 44,563 5,460 
			 2005 51,829 6,513 
			 2006 55,635 7,441 
			 2007 50,461 8,436 
		
	
	Since October 2003, all acute NHS trusts in England are obliged to report all cases of blood stream infections caused by glycopeptide resistant enterococci. These data comprise all specimens processed by NHS acute trust laboratories, not just those from in-patients and include infections acquired in hospital and elsewhere. These data are available from October to September; they are not available by calendar year.
	
		
			  Number of cases of blood stream infections caused by glycopeptide-resistant enterococci 
			   Number of cases of bloodstream infections caused by glycopeptide-resistant enterococci 
			  October to September each year  England  North West England 
			 2003-04 628 59 
			 2004-05 757 113 
			 2005-06 903 130 
			 2006-07 910 114 
		
	
	Since April 2004, the following data have been collected from the mandatory surveillance of surgical site infections (SSIs) in orthopaedic categories in English NHS hospitals. Hospitals carrying out orthopaedic surgery have to participate in the surveillance of at least one category for at least one quarter of the year. All of the SSIs reported are identified during the in-patient period.
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Surgical category  No. of operations  No. of SSIs  No. of operations  No. of SSIs  No. of operations  No. of SSIs  No. of operations  No. of SSIs 
			 Hip prosthesis 16,765 211 21,046 190 25,397 181 28,510 145 
			 Knee prosthesis 15,848 103 22,843 128 25,167 96 30,605 87 
			 Open reduction of long bone fracture 3,277 66 2,774 44 3,678 69 3,752 35 
			 Hip hemiarthroplasty 5,396 219 6,328 230 6,709 211 6,333 151

Hospitals: Infections

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of treating cases of  (a) clostridium difficile and  (b) other healthcare-acquired infections in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department of Health does not routinely collect this information and no single definitive cost figure exists. However, a study by the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) in 1999 estimated that Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) cost the national health service £1 billion a year. This remains the best available estimate of NHS costs.

Hospitals: Infections

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many legal actions have been taken against NHS trusts by the families of patients whose deaths were caused by  (a) clostridium difficile and  (b) other superbug infections in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) cannot run a report on its database to identify claims relating to cause of death. This answer could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	However, the NHSLA does record on its claims database:
	whether the claimant is the a family member;
	an injury being a health care associated infection; and
	the cause, such as failed infection control policy or hospital hygiene.
	The NHSLA have supplied this information in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of claims received 2004-05 to 2008-09 where the claim is made by a family member( 1) , the injury is a health care associated infection, and the cause is failed infection control policy/hospital hygiene as at 31 March 2009 split between Clostridium difficile and other superbug infections 
			  NHSLA notification year  Claim status  Clostridium difficile  Other superbug 
			 2004-05 Incident — — 
			  Open — — 
			  Closed—nil damages — 6 
			  Settled—damages paid — 1 
			  Total — 7 
			 
			 2005-06 Incident — — 
			  Open — — 
			  Closed—nil damages — 3 
			  Settled—damages paid — 1 
			  Total — 4 
			 
			 2006-07 Incident — 1 
			  Open 2 3 
			  Closed—nil damages 4 11 
			  Settled—damages paid 3 2 
			  Total 9 17 
			 
			 2007-08 Incident 1 — 
			  Open 13 4 
			  Closed—nil damages 6 6 
			  Settled—damages paid 7 3 
			  Total 27 13 
			 
			 2008-09 Incident 5 1 
			  Open 20 8 
			  Closed—nil damages 6 1 
			  Settled—damages paid 2 — 
			  Total 33 10 
			 Total  69 51 
			 (1) Claims brought by a family member are likely to indicate that the patient died, although some may be on behalf of patients that lack the requisite mental capacity to make a claim.

Hospitals: Infections

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts have admitted liability for patient deaths caused by  (a) clostridium difficile and  (b) other superbug infections in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The NHS Litigation Authority cannot run a report on its database to identify claims relating to admissions of liability for patient deaths. This answer could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Hospitals: Infections

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of mandatory screening for  (a) clostridium difficile and  (b) other superbug infections.

Ann Keen: The available evidence does not suggest that screening of patients without symptoms of intestinal infection for Clostridium difficile would be clinically effective, as patients without symptoms are not considered to present an increased risk of infecting others. As set out in current guidance, all those aged 65 years or over in hospital with diarrhoea should be tested for C. difficile and other patients tested as clinically indicated. This will ensure the infection is identified quickly and appropriate measures are taken to treat the patient and minimise infection of other patients.
	From 1 April 2009, the national health service has been screening all relevant patients for methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) before planned operations. This will help the NHS reduce the chances of patients getting an MRSA infection, or passing MRSA onto another patient but it is too early to assess the efficacy of screening. There are no other national screening programmes for health care associated infections.

NHS

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which  (a) NHS hospitals,  (b) primary care trusts,  (c) strategic health authorities and  (d) general practice surgeries (i) he and (ii) each other Minister in his Department has visited since 27 June 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Manpower

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time posts in primary care trusts (PCTs) in England became part-time in the year following the merging of PCTs in 2006.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

Nurses: Disqualification

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age of disqualified nursing staff was in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what estimate his Department had made of such figures in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: This information is not held by the Department. The hon. Member may wish to contact the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which is an independent, statutory body.

Nurses: Pensions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of retired nurses have had their pension payments  (a) reduced and  (b) increased in the last 12 months; and for what reason in each case.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available centrally. NHS Pensions holds individual membership records to enable the actual calculation of pension benefits to take place and to support periodical actuarial investigations by the scheme actuary. Pension benefits may change for a variety of reasons such as pensions increase review, re-employment, abatement, or the adjustment of the guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) element. It is not possible to specifically identify subsequent reductions or increases to pension benefits or the reason for each change. With reference to reductions in pension payments for all NHS Pensioners in relation to GMP, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 31 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1107W.

Nurses: Schools

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many qualified school nurses there were in England in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many school nurses in England did not have a post-registration qualification in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The number of qualified school nurses in England in each of the years requested is given in the following table. Other qualified nurses working in a school environment are also given.
	
		
			  National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified nursing staff in the school nursing area of work in England as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Headcount 
			   Qualified school nursing nurses  Qualified school nurse( 1)  Other qualified nurses 
			 2004 2,409 856 1,553 
			 2005 2,887 943 1,944 
			 2006 2,968 1,129 1,839 
			 2007 3,162 1,227 1,935 
			 2008 3,643 1,447 2,196 
			 (1) Qualified school nurse: Qualified school nurses hold the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Specialist Practice Qualification with an outcome in school nursing - which is a recordable qualification on the NMC register.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Nurses: Vacancies

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the three-month vacancy rate was for nurses in each specialist groups in each year since 2004.

Ann Keen: The following tables give the three-month vacancy rates for each nurse speciality since 2004.
	
		
			  The Information Centre for health and social care Vacancies Survey March each year—NHS three-month vacancies in England for qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, all areas of work 
			  Three month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post 
			   All qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff  Acute, elderly and general care 
			   as at 31 March  as at 30 September  as at 31 March  as at 30 September 
			   3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount)  3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount) 
			 2008 0.5 1,565 307,628 376,737 0.5 864 168,912 205,601 
			 2007 0.5 1,695 307,447 374,538 0.5 887 169,284 204,112 
			 2006 0.9 2,884 307,744 381,257 0.8 1,415 168,759 205,611 
			 2005 1.9 5,801 301,877 375,371 1.7 2,917 166,098 203,358 
			 2004 2.6 7,508 291,925 364,692 2.2 3,501 162,671 201,184 
		
	
	
		
			  Three month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post 
			   Paediatrics  Community learning disabilities 
			   as at 31 March  as at 30 September  as at 31 March  as at 30 September 
			   3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount)  3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount) 
			 2008 0.6 87 15,416 18,923 0.2 6 2,986 3,512 
			 2007 0.7 106 15,302 18,634 2.5 83 3,170 3,576 
			 2006 1.1 177 15,412 19,178 0.5 15 3,261 3,748 
			 2005 1.7 263 15,258 18,917 2.3 78 3,325 3,752 
			 2004 2.6 397 14,825 18,437 2.5 81 3,289 3,705 
		
	
	
		
			  Three month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post 
			   Other learning disabilities  Community psychiatry 
			   as at 31 March  as at 30 September  as at 31 March  as at 30 September 
			   3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount)  3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount) 
			 2008 0.3 9 3,607 4,106 0.6 96 15,275 17,115 
			 2007 5.6 213 3,597 4,007 0.4 57 15,208 17,076 
			 2006 1.1 46 4,106 5,076 1.6 228 14,480 15,844 
			 2005 2.3 98 4,201 4,904 2.3 316 13,627 14,909 
			 2004 2.1 94 4,535 5,245 1.9 235 12,064 13,173 
		
	
	
		
			  Three month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post 
			   Other psychiatry  Midwives 
			   as at 31 March  as at 30 September  as at 31 March  as at 30 September 
			   3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount)  3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount) 
			 2008 0.6 179 27,327 31,384 0.8 159 19,298 25,093 
			 2007 0.1 24 27,508 31,402 0.5 91 18,862 24,469 
			 2006 1.5 434 28,049 32,709 1.0 185 18,949 24,808 
			 2005 3.1 881 27,959 32,481 1.8 348 18,854 24,844 
			 2004 4.7 1,282 27,319 31,555 3.3 619 18,444 23,941 
		
	
	
		
			  Three month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post 
			   District  n urses  Health  v isitors 
			   as at 31 March  as at 30 September  as at 31 March  as at 30 September 
			   3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount)  3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount) 
			 2008 0.2 21 8,814 10,779 0.3 29 9,056 11,569 
			 2007 0.5 45 9,180 11,270 0.2 23 9,376 12,034 
			 2006 0.7 67 9,706 12,067 0.6 60 9,809 12,818 
			 2005 1.8 186 10,000 12,827 2.1 218 10,137 13,303 
			 2004 2.3 241 10,496 13,292 3.2 324 9,999 12,984 
		
	
	
		
			  Three month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post 
			   Qualified  school nurses  Other qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 
			   as at 31 March  as at 30 September  as at 31 March  as at 30 September 
			   3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount)  3 month vacancy rate (%)  3 month vacancy number  Staff in post (full-time equivalent)  Staff in post (headcount) 
			 2008 0.4 10 2,232 3,162 0.3 105 34,705 45,493 
			 2007 0.4 7 2,053 2,968 0.5 159 33,908 44,990 
			 2006 0.6 12 1,913 2,887 0.7 245 33,299 46,511 
			 2005 1.9 31 1,619 2,409 1.5 465 30,800 43,667 
			 2004 2.2 40 797 1,188 2.7 693 27,485 39,988 
			  Three month vacancy notes: 1. Vacancy data are from the Vacancies Survey. 2. Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March each specified year. 3. Three month vacancies are vacancies which Trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (full time equivalents). 4. Three month Vacancy Rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post. 5. Three month Vacancy Rates are calculated using staff in post from the Non-Medical Workforce Census September each previous year. 6. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.  General notes: 1. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number. 2. Calculating the vacancy rates using the above data may not equal the actual vacancy rates.  Sources: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Vacancies survey. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce census.

Osteoporosis, Dementia and Alzheimer's

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people were diagnosed with  (a) osteoporosis and  (b) dementia in (i) England, (ii) the North East, (iii) Tees Valley and (iv) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in  (a) England,  (b) North East,  (c) Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: The Department does not collect information on the number of people diagnosed with osteoporosis or dementia in each of the last 10 years. However, the Dementia UK report, published in 2007 by the Alzheimer's Society, estimated that there were 683,597 people in the United Kingdom with dementia.
	The Department does not have data for the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the last five years but the Department through the national Quality and Outcomes Framework for England records the number of people recorded on practice disease registers with a diagnosis of dementia covering 2006-07 and 2007-08.
	Alzheimer's disease accounts for 50-75 per cent. of cases of dementia so the count of patients with dementia gives an indication of the number with Alzheimer's disease.
	The figures are given in the following table and represent the total for patients with dementia.
	
		
			   Financial year 
			   2007-08  2006-07 
			 Stockton on Tees Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT)(1) 745 737 
			 Middlesbrough PCT 487 524 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 629 575 
			 North East Strategic Health Authority 12,420 12,128 
			 England 220,246 212,794 
			 (1) This PCT was formerly known as North Tees. 
		
	
	We are unable to supply information for all the areas requested as some are not health areas. Where this occurs we have supplied information for the health areas that best fit those requested.

Quality Health Ltd.

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates meetings took place between Ministers of his Department and representatives of Quality Health Ltd. in the last 12 months; which Ministers attended each meeting; whether minutes were kept of each meeting; and what other communications his Department has had with Quality Health Ltd. during that period.

Ben Bradshaw: No meetings between Ministers and Quality Health Ltd. have taken place in the last 12 months.
	Quality Health Ltd. has a relationship with the Department acting in its capacity as a sub-contractor to Northgate Information Solutions Ltd., the company awarded in February 2009 a three-year contract to support the implementation of the Department's Patient Reported Outcome Measures programme.
	During mobilisation of the Patient Reported Outcome Measures programme, Departmental officials have had a significant volume of communications with Quality Health Ltd. either directly or indirectly, in writing, in person and by telephone over the period in question.
	Prior to contract award, communications have taken place as part of the normal procurement process. These communications were no different to those had with all bidders. Communications have included a Quality Health Ltd. representative attending Market Information Day events to which potential bidders were invited, and Quality Health Ltd. representatives also attending formal interviews in their capacity as a member of the short-listed bidder's bid team.
	Direct communications have also taken place in relation to implementation of the Patient Reported Outcome Measures programme. Communications began once Northgate Information Solutions Ltd. were notified of their status as preferred bidder and had decided to work towards implementation ahead of contract signature at their own risk.
	On 3 March 2009, subsequent to contract signature, a camera crew contracted to Quality Health Ltd. recorded an interview with my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Darzi) to form part of a training video about Patient Reported Outcome Measures.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Greater London

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with a sexually-transmitted infection in each London health trust area in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: Data on the number of diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics is only available by strategic health authority (SHA). The following table gives the number of diagnoses of STIs in GUM in the London SHA between 2003 and 2007, the latest year for which figures are available.
	
		
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 New STI diagnoses(1) 90,791 92,014 89,823 89,704 96,223 
			 Other STI diagnoses(1) 68,954 73,072 76,386 72,652 79,607 
			 Total STI diagnoses 159,745 165,086 166,209 162,356 175,830 
			 (1) Includes diagnoses defined the in notes 5 and 6 to the following table  Notes: 1. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are for diagnoses made in GUM clinics only. Diagnoses made in other clinical settings, such as General Practice, are not recorded in the KC60 dataset. 2. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. 3. The information provided has been adjusted for missing clinic data.  4. Data are unavailable for 2008. 5. New STI diagnoses include: Chlamydial infection (uncomplicated and complicated), Gonorrhoea (uncomplicated and complicated), Infectious syphilis, Genital Herpes, simplex (first attack), Genital warts (first attack), New HIV diagnosis, Non-specific genital infection (uncomplicated and complicated), Chancroid/lymphogranuloma venerum (LGV)/Donovanosis, Molluscum contagiosum, Trichomoniasis, Scabies, Pediculus pubis. 6. Other STI diagnoses include: Early latent, congenital and other acquired syphilis, Recurrent genital Herpes simplex, Recurrent and re-registered genital warts, Subsequent HIV presentations (including AIDS), Ophthalmia neonatorum (chamydial or gonococcal), Epidemiological treatment of suspected STIs (syphilis, Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, non-specific genital infection).  Source: Health Protection Agency, KC60 returns 
		
	
	In addition to STIs diagnosed in GUM clinics, the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) provides Chlamydia screening to asymptomatic people under the age of 25 years of age in England. The NCSP was launched in 2003, when a phased implementation started. The following table shows the number of diagnoses made of Chlamydia in patients between the ages of 15-24 years between 1 April 2003 and 31 December 2008 London Primary Care Trusts (PCTs).
	
		
			  Area  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 0 (1)— (1)— 16 26 284 
			 Barnet PCT 10 10 30 37 71 154 
			 Bexley PCT 0 11 22 31 32 254 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 6 11 83 121 110 175 
			 Bromley PCT 0 53 77 83 87 237 
			 Camden PCT 53 99 105 126 149 170 
			 City and Hackney Teaching PCT 13 15 32 30 263 402 
			 Croydon PCT 0 35 51 92 102 296 
			 Ealing PCT (1)— (1)— 14 46 24 94 
			 Enfield PCT 0 19 135 134 121 166 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 0 63 66 97 98 465 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT (1)— 5 16 38 33 54 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 9 21 66 80 150 169 
			 Harrow PCT 0 (1)— 77 69 98 127 
			 Havering PCT 0 0 14 46 33 127 
			 Hillingdon PCT (1)— (1)— 19 40 30 150 
			 Hounslow PCT (1)— (1)— 10 28 63 106 
			 Islington PCT 50 115 84 101 141 221 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT (1)— 8 9 26 20 49 
			 Kingston PCT 0 0 11 17 19 81 
			 Lambeth PCT (1)— 232 373 535 572 621 
			 Lewisham PCT (1)— 611 730 859 881 1,025 
			 Newham PCT (1)— 11 9 29 28 335 
			 Redbridge PCT (1)— (1)— 15 24 33 248 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT (1)— 0 (1)— 18 38 68 
			 Southwark PCT (1)— 333 415 582 691 713 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 0 (1)— 20 82 46 165 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT (1)— 8 19 28 103 274 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 7 (1)— 11 32 40 247 
			 Wandsworth PCT (1)— 7 38 71 55 122 
			 Westminster PCT 6 20 21 35 44 69 
			
			 London SHA 185 1,711 2,580 3,553 4,201 7,668 
			 (1) Cell size of 1 to 4 has been masked to protect deductive disclosure in accordance with Office of National Statistics guidelines.  Notes: 1. The NCSP has been phased in since 2003 with all 152 PCTs reporting data to the programme since March 2008. Therefore note that numbers of diagnoses have risen substantially as an increasing proportion of the target population have been tested. 2. NSCP data are presented by PCT of residence. 3. The data from the NCSP Core Dataset are for Chlamydia screens conducted within the NCSP outside of GUM clinics only. 4. The data available from the NCSP are the number of diagnoses made and not the number of patients diagnosed. 5. Data include Chlamydia tests for males, females, and those with unknown/unspecified sex. 6. Data presented are based on tests with confirmed positive diagnoses only.  Source: National Chlamydia Screening Programme Core Dataset

Social Services

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each local authority in England spent on  (a) handling complaints relating to assessment and delivery of care packages for adult social care at stages 1, 2 and 3 of the complaints procedure and  (b) handling any such complaints in respect of which applications for review were made to the courts in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: Data on personal social services expenditure on complaints procedures are collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. The data are not broken down by the cost of each stage of complaint and the cost of handing complaints that are made to courts.
	Information on the gross current expenditure on complaints procedures, broken down by local authority, for the years 2003-04 to 2007-08 is provided in the following tables.
	
		
			  Gross current expenditure for complaints procedures by local authority, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  £000 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Local authority  Total  Total  Total  Adults  Children  Generic 
			 England 11,786 12,383 13,269 3,256 1,443 8,570 
			
			 Barking and Dagenham 117 116 138 55 69 14 
			 Barnet 18 0 10 10 0 0 
			 Barnsley 118 144 154 109 44 0 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 27 42 29 0 0 29 
			 Bedfordshire 0 157 133 0 0 133 
			 Bexley 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham 405 222 602 0 0 602 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Blackpool 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bolton 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bournemouth 42 40 41 22 19 0 
			 Bracknell Forest 36 41 39 0 0 39 
			 Bradford 290 61 103 0 0 103 
			 Brent 171 104 74 74 58 -58 
			 Brighton and Hove 0 0 74 0 0 74 
			 Bristol 75 102 98 0 0 98 
			 Bromley 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Buckinghamshire 50 86 113 113 0 0 
			 Bury 30 51 61 0 0 61 
			 Calderdale 84 74 81 40 28 13 
			 Cambridgeshire 474 548 480 0 0 480 
			 Camden 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire 115 117 160 0 0 160 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cornwall 0 120 197 73 124 0 
			 Coventry 103 99 102 0 0 102 
			 Croydon 73 74 110 0 0 110 
			 Cumbria 96 93 83 0 0 83 
			 Darlington 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Derby 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Devon 198 243 192 0 0 192 
			 Doncaster 102 112 100 50 50 0 
			 Dorset 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dudley 93 81 125 0 0 125 
			 Durham 155 173 143 0 0 143 
			 Ealing 115 180 138 69 69 0 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 40 39 43 0 0 43 
			 East Sussex 195 273 146 146 0 0 
			 Enfield 75 206 192 185 7 0 
			 Essex 144 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Gateshead 43 49 67 0 0 67 
			 Gloucestershire 131 161 187 0 0 187 
			 Greenwich 127 105 178 0 0 178 
			 Hackney 72 66 60 0 0 60 
			 Halton 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 367 315 307 199 108 0 
			 Hampshire 136 156 211 123 88 0 
			 Haringey 63 63 35 35 0 0 
			 Harrow 26 127 188 0 0 188 
			 Hartlepool 20 20 29 0 0 29 
			 Havering 0 70 57 0 57 0 
			 Herefordshire 21 19 19 0 0 19 
			 Hertfordshire 104 143 143 143 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 112 128 115 0 0 115 
			 Hounslow 131 122 198 0 0 198 
			 Isle of Wight 81 110 59 48 11 0 
			 Isles of Scilly 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Islington 162 146 203 123 61 19 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 116 122 147 0 0 147 
			 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Kingston upon Hull 40 74 97 44 53 0 
			 Kingston upon Thames 17 17 18 0 0 18 
			 Kirklees 105 118 108 0 0 108 
			 Knowsley 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lambeth 56 91 106 106 0 0 
			 Lancashire 78 78 82 0 0 82 
			 Leeds 151 12 191 0 0 191 
			 Leicester 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Leicestershire 65 53 42 14 28 0 
			 Lewisham 115 116 69 0 0 69 
			 Lincolnshire 72 85 105 70 35 0 
			 Liverpool 117 50 39 0 0 39 
			 Luton 46 101 116 0 7 108 
			 Manchester 60 49 46 0 0 46 
			 Medway Towns 0 38 44 20 10 14 
			 Merton 20 67 83 0 0 83 
			 Middlesbrough 17 13 16 16 0 0 
			 Milton Keynes 68 48 85 85 0 0 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 16 23 52 52 0 0 
			 Newham 197 207 205 0 0 205 
			 Norfolk 166 156 177 177 0 0 
			 North East Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Lincolnshire 25 29 31 0 0 31 
			 North Somerset 85 78 65 0 0 65 
			 North Tyneside 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 99 92 99 0 0 99 
			 Northamptonshire 0 82 97 0 97 0 
			 Northumberland 197 178 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottingham 202 165 168 0 0 168 
			 Nottinghamshire 218 259 249 0 0 249 
			 Oldham 89 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oxfordshire 47 92 100 0 0 100 
			 Peterborough 102 98 69 0 69 0 
			 Plymouth 97 120 134 0 0 134 
			 Poole 5 4 4 0 4 0 
			 Portsmouth 34 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Reading 46 49 49 0 0 49 
			 Redbridge 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 31 39 42 0 0 42 
			 Richmond upon Thames 81 66 94 0 0 94 
			 Rochdale 79 59 0 0 0 0 
			 Rotherham 115 120 193 74 120 0 
			 Rutland 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Salford 28 49 40 0 0 40 
			 Sandwell 280 218 145 145 0 0 
			 Sefton 151 118 151 151 0 0 
			 Sheffield 195 235 227 0 0 227 
			 Shropshire 63 61 0 0 0 0 
			 Slough 47 52 0 0 0 0 
			 Solihull 33 37 35 0 0 35 
			 Somerset 17 0 0 0 0 0 
			 South Gloucestershire 82 72 144 104 40 0 
			 South Tyneside 61 56 67 0 0 67 
			 Southampton 44 62 77 0 0 77 
			 Southend-on-Sea 49 56 57 57 0 0 
			 Southwark 0 117 152 0 0 152 
			 St. Helens 11 13 17 0 0 17 
			 Staffordshire 220 219 284 0 0 284 
			 Stockport 126 128 136 82 55 0 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 87 86 111 71 40 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 0 0 53 0 0 53 
			 Suffolk 78 80 83 0 0 83 
			 Sunderland 121 124 127 0 0 127 
			 Surrey 158 195 208 0 0 208 
			 Sutton 18 18 29 29 0 0 
			 Swindon 81 84 0 0 0 0 
			 Tameside 86 95 75 75 0 0 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 97 87 93 93 0 0 
			 Thurrock 34 40 0 0 0 0 
			 Torbay 0 0 22 0 22 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 163 161 175 0 0 175 
			 Trafford 96 100 101 101 0 0 
			 Wakefield 149 49 180 0 0 180 
			 Walsall 87 159 143 72 71 0 
			 Waltham Forest 158 135 148 0 0 148 
			 Wandsworth 24 17 0 0 0 0 
			 Warrington 0 0 35 0 0 35 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Berkshire 65 73 79 0 0 79 
			 West Sussex 0 146 151 0 0 151 
			 Westminster 49 68 93 0 0 93 
			 Wigan 212 237 283 0 0 283 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 50 50 0 0 0 0 
			 Wirral 264 300 254 0 0 254 
			 Wokingham 47 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton 45 79 3 0 0 3 
			 Worcestershire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 York 94 61 51 0 0 51 
		
	
	
		
			  £000 
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			  Local authority  Total  Adults  Children  Generic  Total  Adults  Children 
			 England 15,521 7,124 3,621 4,777 15,834 10,763 5,071 
			 
			 Barking and Dagenham 158 143 0 15 27 27 0 
			 Barnet 43 0 43 0 44 44 0 
			 Barnsley 153 107 46 0 138 93 45 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 33 0 0 33 38 19 19 
			 Bedfordshire 123 31 92 0 128 50 78 
			 Bexley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham 658 658 0 0 719 719 0 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Blackpool 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bolton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bournemouth 49 25 24 0 58 33 25 
			 Bracknell Forest 55 43 12 0 57 42 15 
			 Bradford 111 50 61 0 126 57 70 
			 Brent 139 114 25 0 104 74 30 
			 Brighton and Hove 70 0 0 70 70 70 0 
			 Bristol 70 70 0 0 120 72 48 
			 Bromley 5 0 5 0 60 52 8 
			 Buckinghamshire 93 93 0 0 57 57 0 
			 Bury 39 39 0 0 40 40 0 
			 Calderdale 84 55 29 0 96 48 48 
			 Cambridgeshire 508 0 0 508 109 84 25 
			 Camden 68 0 0 68 82 0 82 
			 Cheshire 160 0 0 160 122 122 0 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cornwall 157 75 82 0 61 61 0 
			 Coventry 90 72 18 0 130 76 54 
			 Croydon 148 0 0 148 56 56 0 
			 Cumbria 0 90 0 -90 120 120 0 
			 Darlington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Derby 44 0 44 0 45 0 45 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Devon 228 0 0 228 225 225 0 
			 Doncaster 100 50 50 0 50 0 50 
			 Dorset 40 39 1 0 58 41 17 
			 Dudley 77 0 0 77 77 77 0 
			 Durham 108 79 29 0 106 88 18 
			 Ealing 138 66 72 0 151 74 77 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 51 0 0 51 61 61 0 
			 East Sussex 294 294 0 0 275 275 0 
			 Enfield 42 35 7 0 33 21 12 
			 Essex 92 92 0 0 130 130 0 
			 Gateshead 32 0 0 32 43 43 0 
			 Gloucestershire 122 0 0 122 150 150 0 
			 Greenwich 117 33 84 0 171 51 120 
			 Hackney 63 63 0 0 45 45 0 
			 Halton 0 0 0 0 35 35 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 291 181 110 0 136 0 136 
			 Hampshire 249 154 94 1 247 139 108 
			 Haringey 82 82 0 0 73 73 0 
			 Harrow 217 0 0 217 464 198 266 
			 Hartlepool 20 0 0 20 24 20 4 
			 Havering 37 0 0 37 186 58 128 
			 Herefordshire 34 0 0 34 27 27 0 
			 Hertfordshire 163 163 0 0 203 203 0 
			 Hillingdon 94 0 0 94 88 88 0 
			 Hounslow 288 0 0 288 212 199 13 
			 Isle of Wight 40 29 11 0 76 76 0 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Islington 214 0 0 214 227 159 68 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 31 0 31 0 99 56 43 
			 Kent 330 226 104 0 396 253 143 
			 Kingston upon Hull 101 48 53 0 114 50 64 
			 Kingston upon Thames 18 18 0 0 24 24 0 
			 Kirklees 119 65 54 0 147 75 72 
			 Knowsley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lambeth 94 94 0 0 47 47 0 
			 Lancashire 79 0 0 79 78 78 0 
			 Leeds 192 0 0 192 248 248 0 
			 Leicester 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Leicestershire 62 41 21 0 65 46 19 
			 Lewisham 102 0 102 0 229 86 143 
			 Lincolnshire 1,012 526 486 0 94 94 0 
			 Liverpool 29 0 0 29 192 192 0 
			 Luton 45 0 0 45 48 41 7 
			 Manchester 46 0 0 46 66 33 33 
			 Medway Towns 62 40 22 0 61 39 22 
			 Merton 89 62 27 0 62 62 0 
			 Middlesbrough 19 19 0 0 20 20 0 
			 Milton Keynes 75 75 0 0 92 92 0 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 142 100 43 0 205 82 123 
			 Newham 230 65 166 0 293 105 188 
			 Norfolk 50 50 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North East Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Lincolnshire 31 0 0 31 67 48 19 
			 North Somerset 33 10 23 0 12 12 0 
			 North Tyneside 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 102 102 0 0 133 95 38 
			 Northampton- shire 116 0 116 0 108 1 107 
			 Northumberland 249 100 149 0 264 107 157 
			 Nottingham 226 0 0 226 182 104 78 
			 Nottinghamshire 309 0 0 309 255 211 44 
			 Oldham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Oxfordshire 108 78 30 0 131 110 21 
			 Peterborough 89 0 0 89 64 0 64 
			 Plymouth 94 41 53 0 210 82 128 
			 Poole 3 0 3 0 6 0 6 
			 Portsmouth 40 0 40 0 99 59 40 
			 Reading 115 67 48 0 97 48 49 
			 Redbridge 0 0 0 0 38 0 38 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 44 0 0 44 45 34 11 
			 Richmond upon Thames 103 0 0 103 102 102 0 
			 Rochdale 0 0 0 0 54 0 54 
			 Rotherham 212 90 122 0 192 85 107 
			 Rutland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Salford 43 0 0 43 42 42 0 
			 Sandwell 0 0 0 0 24 24 0 
			 Sefton 162 162 0 0 52 52 0 
			 Sheffield 212 0 212 0 347 90 257 
			 Shropshire 0 0 0 0 72 72 0 
			 Slough 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Solihull 23 0 0 23 1 0 1 
			 Somerset 20 0 20 0 21 0 21 
			 South Gloucestershire 105 45 56 4 103 43 60 
			 South Tyneside 53 0 0 53 77 56 21 
			 Southampton 80 39 41 0 97 40 57 
			 Southend-on-Sea 41 0 41 0 63 50 13 
			 Southwark 213 0 0 213 157 95 62 
			 St. Helens 1 0 0 1 22 10 12 
			 Staffordshire 304 0 0 304 344 344 0 
			 Stockport 140 80 60 0 163 101 62 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 126 63 63 0 149 75 74 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 32 0 0 32 5 5 0 
			 Suffolk 80 0 0 80 535 395 140 
			 Sunderland 78 51 27 0 92 63 29 
			 Surrey 476 356 120 0 222 88 134 
			 Sutton 63 63 0 0 68 68 0 
			 Swindon 0 0 0 0 49 49 0 
			 Tameside 66 66 0 0 63 63 0 
			 Telford and the Wrekin 119 119 0 0 71 71 0 
			 Thurrock 38 38 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Torbay 0 0 0 0 40 0 40 
			 Tower Hamlets 179 91 88 0 181 103 78 
			 Trafford 84 84 0 0 134 134 0 
			 Wakefield 168 104 64 0 252 149 103 
			 Walsall 146 73 73 0 182 112 70 
			 Waltham Forest 178 178 0 0 167 130 37 
			 Wandsworth 0 0 0 0 75 0 75 
			 Warrington 0 0 0 0 55 55 0 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 124 0 124 
			 West Berkshire 147 0 0 147 189 156 33 
			 West Sussex 201 201 0 0 121 85 36 
			 Westminster 126 63 63 0 0 0 0 
			 Wigan 269 269 0 0 249 249 0 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 43 20 23 0 38 18 20 
			 Wirral 157 0 0 157 269 223 46 
			 Wokingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton 17 17 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Worcestershire 37 0 37 0 41 0 41 
			 York 201 0 0 201 60 60 0 
			  Notes: 1. The information provided on expenditure is derived from data collected annually on social services expenditure from Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs) on the form PSS EX1. This collection has been the responsibility of the Information Centre since April 2005. Prior to this date data were collected by the Department of Health. 2. In 2005-06 and 2006-07 the expenditure on complaints was split into three categories: monies spent on complaints relating to Adult Services, complaints relating to Children's Services and complaints that were for Generic Services. 3. In 2007-08 the PSS EX1 was changed to split all Personal Social Services Expenditure into expenditure on Children and Families Services and Adult Services, therefore for this year there are two categories; monies spent on complaints relating to Adult Services and complaints relating to Children's Services. 4. The expenditure recorded against complaints includes the relevant costs of the complaints procedure required by the national health service and Community Care Act 1990.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Children

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people received the maximum fine for selling alcohol to under age persons in 2007.

Jacqui Smith: The number of persons who received the maximum fine for selling alcohol to a person aged under 18 in 2007 is set out in the following table. In 2007 there were also 3,583 persons who received a penalty notice for disorder (PND) for selling alcohol to someone under the age of 18.
	
		
			  Offenders fined maximum amount for selling alcohol to under 18's, 2007 
			   Maximum fine amount (£)  Number of persons fined maximum 
			 Sale of alcohol to person under 18 5,000 0 
			 Allowing sale of alcohol to person under 18 5,000 0 
			 Persistently selling alcohol to children 10,000 0 
			 Selling etc intoxicating liquor to person under 18 for consumption on the premises 500 7 
			 Wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to person under 18 1,000 0 
			  Note: 1. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 2. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest penalty has been imposed, where the same penalty has been imposed for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Alcoholic Drinks: Fines

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fines were levied for consuming alcohol in a designated public place in each police force area in each year since 1997; what the average fine in each year was; and what percentage of fines were unpaid.

Alan Campbell: The number of fines issued in court and the average fine amount, in all police force areas, from 2002 (earliest available) to 2007 (latest available) are given in the table. The data for unpaid fines are not broken down by offence but the national payment rate for all financial penalties imposed by the courts in 2007-08 was 95per cent.
	The data in the table do not include penalty notices for disorder (PNDs). The number of PNDs issued for failure to comply with a requirement by a constable within a Designated Public Place Order are as follows: 485 in 2004, 712 in 2005, 1,061 in 2006 and 1,544 in 2007.
	
		
			  Number of fines issued and average fine amount by police force area (PFA) for drinking in a designated public place( 1) , 2002-07 
			  £ 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  PFA  Fines issued  Average fine  Fines issued  Average fine  Fines issued  Average fine  Fines issued  Average fine  Fines issued  Average fine  Fines issued  Average fine 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 60.00 2 30.00 4 42.50 1 10.00 3 41.67 4 96.25 
			 Bedfordshire 2 42.50 12 26.67 2 40.00 9 31.67 5 40.00 4 57.50 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 50.00 1 50.00 
			 Cheshire 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 50.00 
			 Cleveland 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 5 85.00 6 66.67 
			 Cumbria 1 30.00 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 50.00 0 n/a 
			 Derbyshire 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 100.00 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 30.00 4 51.25 4 32.50 3 23.33 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Dorset 1 50.00 0 n/a 1 100.00 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 75.00 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Essex 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 50.00 
			 Gloucestershire 0 n/a 1 25.00 2 20.00 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Greater Manchester 1 50.00 1 20.00 4 45.00 3 123.33 0 n/a 1 50.00 
			 Gwent 0 n/a 0 n/a 4 107.50 0 n/a 6 37.50 3 83.33 
			 Hampshire 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 50.00 0 n/a 1 100.00 1 80.00 
			 Humberside 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 50.00 
			 Kent 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Lancashire 0 n/a 3 43.33 2 35.00 1 100.00 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Leicestershire 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 2 45.00 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Merseyside 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 4 50.00 3 58.33 
			 Metropolitan Police 11 48.18 23 (2)40.00 13 40.38 12 72.92 10 45.50 5 49.00 
			 Norfolk 0 n/a 7 25.71 2 22.50 2 50.00 2 30.00 4 58.75 
			 North Wales 1 30.00 0 n/a 2 75.00 2 75.00 1 50.00 3 60.00 
			 Northumbria 1 50.00 2 105.00 3 76.67 8 62.50 3 50.00 9 50.00 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 40.00 2 47.50 
			 South Wales 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 50.00 0 n/a 1 100.00 0 n/a 
			 South Yorkshire 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 75.00 2 37.50 
			 Staffordshire 0 n/a 3 25.33 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Suffolk 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 2 52.50 
			 Sussex 1 50.00 1 20.00 5 55.00 6 43.33 7 37.14 4 37.50 
			 Thames Valley 0 n/a 9 40.00 18 44.17 5 55.00 5 54.00 3 58.33 
			 West Mercia 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 5 118.00 
			 West Midlands 0 n/a 3 43.33 8 53.13 7 65.00 2 27.50 11 50.91 
			 West Yorkshire 0 n/a 1 20.00 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Wiltshire 0 n/a 0 n/a 1 50.00 1 75.00 0 n/a 0 n/a 
			 Total 21 45.95 72 37.17 78 49.94 63 58.57 59 48.98 76 60.92 
			 n/a = Not applicable (1) Under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 which came into force on 1 September 2001, there were no offenders sentenced in 2001. (2) Excludes one fine amount which exceeds the statutory maximum and may be erroneous.  Notes: 1. Where a PFA does not appear in the list there have been no offenders fined in any of the years listed. 2. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. 3. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. 4. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Buses: Damage

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidences of criminal damage to buses have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: The information requested is not available centrally. Offences committed in relation to buses cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has adopted the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office has joined the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme. This is providing us with technical and change management support to help us realise savings in carbon emissions.

Departmental Energy

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies to improve the thermal efficiency of their buildings in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: The Department is committed to the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets which include a requirement to reduce absolute carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency per m(2) and a mandated action to apply the building research establishments environmental assessment method (BREEAM) to all new build and major refurbishment projects.
	In the last 12 months a range of activities have been undertaken across the estate as part of refurbishment projects which will improve thermal efficiency of buildings, including installation of double glazing at an Identity and Passport Service office in Liverpool and upgrading of thermostatic controls to improve efficiency in certain buildings on the UK Border Agency (UKBA) estate in Croydon. In addition, our newest office building, Vulcan house, a UKBA property was Sheffield's first BREEAM excellent rated building. It has a range of measures integrated into the design and construction to optimise thermal efficiency including setting the orientation to mitigate the effects of solar gain, building fabric insulation and a thermally efficient envelope including a vegetation roof that acts as a thermal barrier in both winter and summer. We will continue to employ these innovative and effective design methods to maximise thermal efficiency in future construction projects.
	The Department has recently signed up to the Carbon Trust Management Programme which will assist us in identifying opportunities to further improve efficiency on our existing estate.

Departmental Energy

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress her Department has made towards the target of increasing its energy efficiency per square metre of its Estate by 15 per cent. by 2010, relative to 1999-2000 levels; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Department is committed to the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets which include a requirement to improve energy efficiency per m(2) by 15 per cent. by 2010, and then 30 per cent. by 2020, based on 1999-2000 levels. Energy efficiency performance in 2007-08, the latest year for which data are available, compared to 1999-2000 shows that we are 13 per cent. less efficient than in the baseline year. These figures are given in the annual Sustainable Development in Government Assessment 2008 published by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) in December 2008.
	Our estate structure and size significantly altered as a result of Machinery of Government changes in the last reporting period, following the transfer of the National Offender Management Service, incorporating the probation and prisons estates, to the Ministry of Justice in May 2007.
	We will be applying to re-baseline our data for the next reporting period to reflect these estate changes and some data improvements. This will assist us to report Home Office energy efficiency per square metre for our buildings (excluding those with shared occupancy), permit fairer comparisons to the baseline year and identify what level of activity may be required to meet the 2010 target. The Department has recently signed up to the Carbon Trust Management Programme which will assist us in identifying opportunities to further improve efficiency.
	
		
			   kWh/m( 2) 
			   Energy per m( 2) 
			 1999-2000(1) 327 
			 2007-08(1) 371 
			 (1) Includes core Home Office, UK Borders Agency, Identity and Passport Service as well as the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), since transferred to the Ministry of Justice.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of IT products in each category procured for each division of her Department were compliant with the Government's Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard in the latest year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Department contracts for the provision of IT services with suppliers and, therefore, does not directly buy IT products. In accordance with the Department's procurement policy the procurement of IT services requires the evaluation of suppliers' environmental policies and practices and the contracts require suppliers to meet the Department's and Government's sustainability standards on an ongoing basis.

Departmental Public Consultation

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which opinion research companies her Department employed in 2008-09; and what the cost was of employing each.

Phil Woolas: During the financial year 2008-09 the Home Office and its agencies have employed the following companies for public opinion polling at these total costs:
	1. Central Home Office: Ipsos MORI - £177,775
	2. UK Border Agency: Ipsos MORI - £89,050
	3. Identity and Passport Service: TNS - £67,800

Departmental Recycling

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much and what proportion of its waste her Department recycled in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: Central Government Departments and their executive agencies are required to report performance data on the proportion of waste recycled on their office estate annually as part of the Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) reporting process. The latest assessment of Government's performance against these targets was published by the Sustainable Development Commission on 12 December 2008
	http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/sdig2008/
	We reported 44 per cent. and 25 per cent. of waste was recycled in 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively. Direct comparisons between these two years cannot be easily drawn as the data were extrapolated across the estate using a very small sample of UK Border Agency buildings plus Home Office headquarters. We are currently seeking a rebaselining of our data to a period with more representative and comprehensive data.
	The figures for Home Office Headquarters on its own for 2006-07 and 2007-08 are as follows:
	
		
			   Waste recycled tonnes)  Percentage of total waste recycled 
			 2006-07 224.40 45 
			 2007-08 224.56 49

Departmental Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in her Department  (a) were disciplined and  (b) had their employment terminated as a result of a poor sickness record in each of the last 12-months.

Phil Woolas: Staff with a poor sickness absence record are managed under attendance management policies operated within Home Office Headquarters, the UK Border Agency (UKBA), the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), and the Identity and Passport Service (IPS).
	During the period 1 March 2008-28 February 2009, a total of 357 members of staff within Home Office HQ and UKBA were disciplined short of dismissal under attendance management policies. A breakdown by month is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of Home Office HQ and UKBA staff disciplined short of dismissal under attendance management procedures 
			   Staff disciplined short of dismissal 
			 March 2008 45 
			 April 2008 33 
			 May 2008 33 
			 June 2008 29 
			 July 2008 30 
			 August 2008 29 
			 September 2008 20 
			 October 2008 30 
			 November 2008 38 
			 December 2008 21 
			 January 2009 33 
			 February 2009 16 
			 Total 357 
		
	
	During the same period a total of 37 members of staff within Home Office HQ and UKBA were dismissed under attendance management policies. A further breakdown by month has been withheld from the answer as in most cases there were fewer than five dismissals in each month.
	The Identity and Passport Service issued 249 formal disciplinary warnings, and dismissed 25 members of staff under its managing attendance policy during the period 1 March 2008-28 February 2009. The figure for the number of warnings issued is the total number of all disciplinary warnings issued (short of dismissal), rather than the number of people who were disciplined short of dismissal. This information, along with a breakdown of the figures by month, could only be provided at a disproportionate cost by carrying out a detailed manual review of the statistics.
	IPS figures also exclude General Register Office (GRO) staff as GRO data have not yet been migrated to the IPS HR system. The information requested could only therefore be obtained using manual methods which would incur disproportionate cost.
	Less than five members of CRB staff have been dismissed under Sickness Absence Management policies during the last 12 months; further information on those cases is therefore withheld on confidentiality grounds. Information on the number of CRB staff disciplined short of dismissal is not held centrally.

Departmental Written Questions

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parliamentary questions for written answer her Department took longer than 10 days to answer in 2008-09.

Alan Campbell: As of 3 April 2009, the Home Office had received 1,910 written parliamentary questions in session 2008-09. Of the 1,910 written questions, 205, or 10.7 per cent. took longer than 10 sitting days to answer.

Deportation: Sri Lanka

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will impose a moratorium on the deportation to Sri Lanka of failed asylum seekers who are ethnic Tamils.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 20 April 2009
	All asylum claims, including those from Tamils, are considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations against the background of the latest country information and relevant caselaw. Where an applicant has been identified by the asylum decision making process and the appeals determination process not to be in need of international protection, we would expect the individual concerned to leave the UK voluntarily. If they do not leave voluntarily they may have their return enforced.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of students entering each higher education institution in the UK had study visas in each year since 2006; and how many such students were granted extensions to their visas after graduation in order to undertake work in the UK.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign students were prosecuted for breach of the work conditions of their visa in 2008.

Phil Woolas: The system used by the UK Border Agency to record data relating to prosecutions for immigration offences (including those found working in breach of their conditions) does not categorise individuals by the nature of their stay in the UK. To establish the number of foreign students prosecuted for this offence, therefore, would require the examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
	It should be noted, however, that the UK Border Agency would normally seek to remove an individual under such circumstances, rather than to prosecute them, as the former presents a more cost effective alternative.

Essex Police Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 2254-5W, on Essex Police Authority, when she plans to write to the hon. Member for Southend West; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: I wrote to the hon. Gentleman on 20 April 2009.

Identity Cards: Foreigners

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent to date on readers for identity cards for foreign nationals.

Phil Woolas: To date we have not spent anything on card readers. Cards may currently be verified using the card verification phone line and as the volume of cards in circulation increases other forms of verification will be introduced.

Immigration

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been granted leave to remain on the grounds of at least 14 years' continuous residence in the UK in each year since 2004.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 2 April 2009
	The following table shows the number of main applicants (excluding dependants) granted indefinite leave to remain on the grounds of a 14-year long residency each year since 2004.
	
		
			   Main applicants 
			 2005 725 
			 2006 820 
			 2007 815 
			 2008 910 
			 2009 305 
			 Total 4,430 
			  Notes: 1. 2009 figures are for a partial year—1 January to 30 March. 2. The figures quoted are not provided under national statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. 3. The individual figures and total have been rounded to the nearest five.

Immigration: Manpower

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1264W, on immigration: manpower, how much of the £6.7 million paid by her Department to private companies for the period 2007-08 was allocated to  (a) staffing and  (b) other costs.

Phil Woolas: Payments made to third party suppliers for goods and services provided are not, with the exception of agency staff costs, recorded in the accounts as staff or pay costs. They are classified as either non-pay or capital expenditure. The £6.7 million paid to French private companies in 2007-08 is recorded as:
	(i) Non pay - £6.6 million
	(ii) Capital - £0.1 million

Members: Correspondence

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a reply will be sent to the right hon. Member for Rotherham's letter sent on 22 February 2009, on whether Mr. Ismail Kamal Edirise was deported or removed from the United Kingdom to Germany after his detention in 2007.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 19 March 2009
	The UK Border Agency wrote to my right hon. Friend on 19 March 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Isle of Wight, reference CTS: M1893818, sent on behalf of a constituent; and when she plans to reply to that constituent.

Phil Woolas: The letter from the hon. Member for Isle of Wight, reference M1893818, was answered on 18 October 2008. I am sending a copy of this letter to the hon. Member. The full response to the constituent referred to within that letter will be sent this month (April 2009), and a copy will also be sent to the hon. Member.

Offenders: Personal Records

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the statement of 10 January 2007,  Official Report, column 285, on the criminal records backlog, how many of the paper records of crimes committed by British citizens in other EU member states had been entered on the Police National Computer at the latest date for which figures are available; how many of the subjects of such records were convicted of an offence in the period between the receipt of their record by her Department and its entry on the Police National Computer; and for which offences those individuals were convicted.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 26 February 2009
	The paper records concerned contained some 22,000 notifications relating to UK citizens who had been convicted abroad. Of these notifications 1,722 offenders had committed offences equivalent to non-recordable offences in the UK and as such their details would only have been entered on the Police National Computer (PNC) where they accompanied a recordable offence. All the other notifications have been input on the PNC where a suitable matching UK offence exists.
	We would only be able to obtain information relating to how many of the subjects of such notifications were convicted of an offence between receipt of their notification and the entry of the record onto the PNC, and the offences for which those individuals were convicted, by individually interrogating those subjects' records on the PNC. We are therefore unable to provide this on cost grounds.

Olympic Games 2012: Security

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what date she expects to have appointed private security companies to provide security during the London 2012 Olympics.

Vernon Coaker: Responsibility for the appointment of private security companies for the 2012 games rests with the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) rather than the Home Office. LOCOG is undertaking a range of venue assessments to clarify its requirements and will look to appoint specific companies in due course as part of the wider preparations for the games. The Home Office and LOCOG are working closely with the private security industry to ensure the provision of sufficient trained security staff for the games overall.
	LOCOG will procure all its goods and services through the 'Compete 4' web portal. Any companies that wish to express an interest in LOCOG contracts should be directed to sign up to 'Compete 4'. This can be done via LOCOG's web-page at:
	www.london2012.com/business
	There are of course several elements to the expected security needs for the games, covering both guarding staff and technical security measures.

Overseas Visitors: Uganda

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Ugandan citizens visited the UK in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: The latest available statistics on the number of Ugandan nationals given leave to enter the United Kingdom as visitors for 2007 are given in the following table. Data for 2008 are scheduled for publication in August 2009.
	The information shown is based on landing card information and may include the same individuals more than once if they visited the United Kingdom on multiple occasions in the period.
	Statistics on passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom by purpose of journey and nationality are published annually in table 2.3 of the Home Office publications 'Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom' which are available in the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1008.pdf
	Table 2.3 gives details of other reasons that Ugandan nationals entered the UK each year
	
		
			  Ugandan nationals given leave to enter the United Kingdom by purpose of journey, 2007( 1,2) 
			  Passengers admitted, by purpose of journey  Number of journeys 
			 Total admitted 15,600 
			  of which:  
			 Visitors 6,680 
			  of which:  
			 Ordinary 4,990 
			 Business 1,680 
			 (1) May understate due to some administrative records on non-EEA nationals being unavailable for statistical analysis. (2) Provisional.  Note: Data rounded to 3 significant figures so may not sum to the total.

Right of Abode

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions in law govern the acquisition of the right of permanent settlement of foreign nationals who have been legally resident in the UK for five years.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 20 April 2009
	The Immigration Rules can be accessed via the UK Border Agency website at:
	http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/immigrationlaw/immigrationrules/
	Copies of the Immigration Rules are also available in the House Library.

Sexual Offences

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding has been provided by central government for  (a) sexual assault referral centres and  (b) rape crisis centres in each of the last five years, broken down by constituency; and how much funding was provided for such centres located in (i) rural and (ii) urban areas.

Jacqui Smith: Based on the best available information, the approximated total of grants awarded to sexual assault referral centres for each of the last five years is set out in table 1:
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Source  Total (£) 
			 2004-05 Home Office SARC Funding 310,000 
			 2005-06 Home Office SARC Funding 709,000 
			 2006-07 Home Office SARC Funding 620,000 
			 2007-08 Home Office SARC Funding 805,000 
			 2008-09 Home Office SARC Funding 663,000 
		
	
	The information provided is not available broken down by constituency level or by rural or urban areas and to do so would incur disproportionate costs.
	The Government have provided funding to rape crisis centres in a variety of ways over the past five years including core funding to the national umbrella organisation, Rape Crisis England and Wales and its predecessor bodies as well as funding for Independent Sexual Violence Advisers—a number of which are based in rape crisis centres.
	Based on the best available evidence, the approximated total of central Government grants to rape crisis centres awarded from the Victims' Fund, Home Office funding for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and the Special Fund to Rape Crisis Centres, for each of the last five years is set out in table 2:
	
		
			  Table  2 
			   Source  Total (£) 
			 2004-05 Victim's Fund 199,270 
			 2005-06 Victim's Fund 543,607 
			 2006-07 Victim's Fund and Home Office (ISVA) funding 631,038 
			 2007-08 Victim's Fund and Home Office (ISVA) funding 862,315 
			 2008-09 Victim's Fund, Home Office (ISVA) funding and special fund 1,744,089 
		
	
	This information is not available broken down by constituency level or by rural or urban areas and to do so would incur disproportionate costs.

UK Border Agency: Travel Requirements

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) emergency travel documents and  (b) European Union letters the UK Border Agency (i) applied for and (ii) received in 2008.

Phil Woolas: It is not possible to provide an accurate figure for the number of Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs) applied for and received by the UK Border Agency in 2008 without incurring disproportionate cost; this is due to discrepancies in the data currently held which would require the detailed examination of individual records to rectify.
	Agreements have been reached with a number of countries who allow their nationals to be removed from the UK on European Union (EU) letters. There is not a requirement to apply for an EU letter as the UK Border Agency is granted authority from the host Government to issue these documents independently.
	There is no central record of the numbers of EU letters issued by the UK Border Agency and as such this information could only be retrieved by the detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Departmental Pay

Douglas Hogg: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many staff in the House of Commons service received a basic salary of more than that of an hon. Member in financial year 2008-09; what the job title and Department was of each of those members of staff; and how much the basic salary of each was.

Nick Harvey: The basic salary payable to Members is £63,291 per annum as at 31 March 2009. As at that date, 83 staff were paid an annual salary above this figure. A list of the posts in the Senior Commons Structure and at pay band Al, which have pay maxima higher than Members' current salary, will be placed in the Library. Details of the staff pay bands and staff pay arrangements are available on the parliamentary intranet. The salaries of Members of the Management Board are set out in the House of Commons: Administration annual accounts.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of apprenticeship starts  (a) at each level and  (b) by each age group in each year from 2005-06 to 2008-09 were in programme-led apprenticeships.

Si�n Simon: Tables 1 and 2 show the percentage of apprenticeship starts that were programme led apprenticeships by  (a) age and  (b) level in each year from 2005/06 to 2007/08, the latest year for which we have fully audited data. We expect these programme-led apprentices to have a strong link to the workplace. The following figures do not include programme-led apprenticeships in colleges on wholly further education based courses.
	
		
			  Table 1: Programme led apprenticeship starts by level, 2005/06 to 2007/08 
			  Percentage 
			  Level  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08 
			 Level 2-Apprenticeships 11.0 8.6 8.0 
			 Level 3-Advanced Apprenticeships 5.1 5.5 3.7 
			 Other 1.4 0.8 0.5 
			 Total 9.1 7.5 6.5 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Programme led apprenticeship starts by age, 2005/06 to 2007/08 
			  Percentage 
			  Age  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08 
			 Under 19 11.9 9.7 9.2 
			 19-24 5.6 4.7 5.1 
			 25+ 1.6 (1) 0.2 
			 Total 9.1 7.5 6.5 
			 (1) Indicates nil or negligible  Notes: 1. Figures are based on the number of programme-led apprenticeships in work-based learning. 2. The denominator used in the calculations includes all apprenticeship starts plus a very small number of starts on NVQ only programmes.  Source: WBL ILR 
		
	
	The Government are committed to rebuilding apprenticeships. Since 1997 we have witnessed a renaissance in apprenticeships from a low point of 65,000 to a record 225,000 apprenticeship starts in 2007/08. Completion rates are also at a record high with 64 per cent. successfully completing an apprenticeshipup from 37 per cent. in 2004/05.

London Metropolitan University

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent assessment he has made of London Metropolitan University's contribution to widening participation in higher education.

David Lammy: The performance of individual institutions towards widening participation is shown by performance indicators published annually by the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA). These performance indicators show how a university performs against its benchmarks. Benchmarks show what a university with similar circumstances could be expected to achieve.
	The performance of London Metropolitan University is shown in the following table. The table shows that the London Metropolitan University is exceeding the benchmarks for young people participating from both state schools and colleges and from lower socio-economic backgrounds. It performs below the benchmark for participation from low participation neighbourhoods.
	
		
			  Table 1 :  Performance indicators for London  M etropolitan university concerned with widening participation 
			  Academic  y ear  %  from state schools or colleges  Benchmark (%)  %  from NS-SEC classes 4,5,6  7  Benchmark (%)  %  from low participation neighbourhoods  Benchmark (%)  %  from low participation neighbourhoods  (POLAR 2)( 1)  Benchmark (%) 
			 2002/03 96.8 92.3 43.7 36.5 12.9 15.9 n/a n/a 
			 2003/04 96.4 94.1 43.0 36.8 13.5 17.9 n/a n/a 
			 2004/05 97.3 93.9 40.1 35.3 15.8 17.8 n/a n/a 
			 2005/06 97.5 94.1 40.9 35.7 16.6 17.9 7.5 10.8 
			 2006/07 97.3 93.3 42.9 35.9 n/a n/a 7.3 10.8 
			 (1) There was a change in methodology in 2006/07 for the low participation neighbourhood indicator which has produced a break in the time series as figures using different methods cannot be compared. Figures for the 2005/06 year have been re-calculated to show some time series comparison.  Source:  Performance Indicators in Higher Education, published by HESA.

Students: Loans

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much the Student Loans Company has repaid following overpayments by people with student loans; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Statistical First Release Student Loans for Higher Education in England, Financial Year 2007-08 (Provisional) includes the amounts the Student Loans Company has refunded to borrowers from 2005-06. Consistent data are not available for earlier years. This document is published by the Student Loans Company and is available on the SLC website at:
	www.slc.co.uk/pdf/slcsfr022008.pdf
	For income contingent loans, because there is a time lag between student loan deductions being made and the Student Loan Company (SLC) receiving information from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), it is possible for people to overpay before the SLC becomes aware that their repayments should stop. Because of this, borrowers are advised to monitor their own repayments so they know when they are likely to come to the end of repaying their loan. If they do not, they could overpay.
	The SLC is exploring number of measures to help customers avoid overpayment, including giving them the option to make final repayments outside the tax system, via direct debit, to ensure they do not overpay. The SLC has also introduced new guidance and tools, including an on-line calculator, to help customers work out their loan balance, and therefore when they are likely to repay their loan in full. This facility is also available by telephone.
	In the main, MS loans are repaid by direct debit (or standing order), which continue to deduct repayments so long as there is a balance outstanding on the customer's account. SLC administers these loans directly, issuing customers an annual statement. This reduces the likelihood of overpayments being made, although it is still possible for them to occur in some circumstances.

Students: Loans

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many graduates he estimates will complete the repayment of their student loans in the next  (a) three months,  (b) six months and  (c) 12 months.

David Lammy: The information requested is not available.
	The Statistical First Release Student Loans for Higher Education in England, Financial Year 2007-08 (Provisional) includes figures of borrowers who have fully repaid loans in the last three years. This document is published by the Student Loans Company and available on the SLC website at:
	www.slc.co.uk/pdf/slcsfr022008.pdf

Train to Gain Programme

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of people who started training under Train to Gain did not complete their course in the last period for which figures are available.

Si�n Simon: The percentage of people successfully completing a Train to Gain qualification is measured using the Train to Gain success rate. This can be used to infer the percentage of people who do not complete their qualification, which will include those learners that did not finish their course.
	In 2006/07, the Train to Gain success rate was 70.6 per cent.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Cameroon: Environment Protection

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid the Government has given to the Cameroon Parliamentary Caucus for Environmental Protection in each of the last five years; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Caucus against its objectives; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The UK Government have made no financial or other contributions directly to the Cameroon Parliamentary Caucus for Environmental Protection. A Department for International Development (DFID) funded projectthe Forest Governance Facility (FGF)co-hosted two meetings with the Caucus between March 2007 and summer 2008 on issues relating to (1) environmental policy and legislation in Cameroon and (2) wetlands management and conservation. The FGF also provided some assistance in kind to the Caucus secretariat including print cartridges, reams of paper and the printing of one edition of their newsletter. This did not exceed a value of 200.
	There has been no further work or follow up with the Caucus.

Departmental Finance

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the merits of requiring each project funded by his Department to publish data on its  (a) budgeted and  (b) actual expenditure online; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) makes information about project funding available through two portals, the AiDA Development Gateway and the OECD Development Assistance Committee's Creditor Reporting Systems (CRS). These can be accessed through the following links:
	 AiDA
	http://aida.developmentgateway.org/index.do
	 CRS
	www.oecd.org/dac/stats/idsonline
	More detailed information including budgeted and actual expenditure is due to be made available through a database on the DFID website later this year. The exact timing is currently being finalised.

Departmental Rail Travel

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what guidance his Department issues on whether members of staff may claim for travel in first class carriages on trains if there are no seats in standard class.

Ivan Lewis: Employees of the Department for International Development (DFID) must travel by the most efficient and economical means when travelling on official business. Staff are required to travel in standard class carriages for rail journeys within the UK, unless they are expected to work during the trip, when first class travel is allowed. Where no standard class seats are available, staff are permitted to travel first class where this provides the most economical means of meeting the business need.

JUSTICE

Criminal Justice Act 1996: Convictions

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted for an offence under sections 139 and 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1996 in 2007; and on how many occasions the maximum sentence of imprisonment was imposed.

Maria Eagle: Information showing the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty, sentenced, and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for offences under sections 139 and 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (as amended by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996) and under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 in England and Wales in 2007 are shown in the table.
	The statutory maximum penalty is reserved generally for the worst of cases for which it is prescribed and therefore rarely imposed. This is true across all types of offences.
	If it was found that the courts were sentencing at, or near, the maximum for any offence with any degree of frequency this would cause us to look at the maximum penalty to see if it were set high enough to cater for the cases coming before the courts. It is likely that the courts would draw our attention to any such cases and indicate that they did not consider that their powers were sufficient.
	More offenders are being sent to jail for the number of offences resulting in immediate custody rose from 1,125 in the last quarter of 2007 to 1,386 in the same period of 2008. On average there was a 40 per cent. increase in the number of prisoners serving a sentence for possession of an offensive weapon between the same periods.
	Fewer cautions being issued: the number fell 31 per cent. over the same period (1,706 in the last quarter of 2008 compared to 2,455 in the same period of 2007).
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty, sentenced, sentenced to immediate custody and given the maximum custodial sentence at all courts for offences under sections 139 and 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and section 1 of the 1953 Prevention of Crime Act, England and Wales, 2007( 1,2) 
			  Offence  Statute  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Total sentenced  Number sentenced to immediate custody  Given the maximum determinate custodial sentence 
			 Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. Prevention of Crime Act 1953 Sec. 1(1) as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.2(1). 7,702 5,636 5,585 852 0 
			
			 Having an article with blade or point in public place. Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S3. 7,356 6,123 6,121 1,060 (3)2 
			
			 Having an article with blade or point on school premises. Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139A (1)(5)(a) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.4(1). 48 46 45 5 0 
			
			 Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse on school premises. Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139A (2)(5)(b) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.4(1). 33 27 26 1 0 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The maximum determinate sentence for possessing an article with a blade or point in a public place or at school was changed from two to four years by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 for offences committed on or after 12 February 2007. Data held on the Ministry Courts Proceeding Database do not identify the date the offence was committed so it cannot be determined which maximum sentence offenders would have been eligible for. The maximum used here is two years. No offenders received a four year custodial sentence.  Source: Evidence and Analysis UnitOffice for Criminal Justice Reform.

Departmental Buildings

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what  (a) grade II,  (b) grade II* and  (c) grade I listed buildings have been owned by his Department in each of the last three years.

Shahid Malik: Information relating to grade listed buildings within the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) estate is as follows:
	 MOJ HQ
	MOJ HQ has only one listed building, Gwydyr House, which is Grade II* listed. The ownership of Gwydyr House pre-dates April 2006.
	 Her Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS)
	HMPS have provided a document detailing all listed buildings and monuments they own and their location. The information includes specific details of exactly which part of each building or monument is listed. There are examples of buildings that have several separate listings and are graded differently. This information has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS)
	HMCS have provided a schedule of Ancient Monuments and schedules of Grade I listed buildings, Grade II listed buildings and Grade II* listed buildings. All information provided is of buildings where ownership pre-dates April 2006. This information has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Tribunal Service
	The Tribunal Service has two listed buildings; 52 Melville Street, Edinburgh which is graded B (the Scottish equivalent to Grade II) and 14 East Parade, Sheffield which is also Grade II listed. Both buildings pre-date April 2006 in terms of ownership.
	 National Offender Management Service (non-custodial)
	NOMS do not hold this information centrally and to obtain would require undertaking an investigation which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Buildings

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what buildings are owned or operated by his Department under a private finance initiative (PFI) arrangement; and which companies are involved with each such PFI arrangement.

Jack Straw: The following buildings are owned or operated under PFI arrangements by the specified operators:
	
		
			   PFI Operators 
			  Prison  
			 HMP Parc Securicor + Costain/Skanska 
			 HMP Altcourse Group 4 + Carillion 
			 HMP Lowdham Grange Premier Custodial Group + Skanska 
			 HMP Ashfield Premier Custodial Group + Skanska 
			 HMP Forest Bank Kaylx + Interserve 
			 HMP Rye Hill/Onley Group 4 + Carillion 
			 HMP Dovegate Premier Custodial Group + Skanska 
			 HMP Bronzefield Kaylx + Interserve 
			 HMP Peterborough Kaylx + Interserve 
			   
			  Court  
			 Hereford, Kidderminster, Worcester and Redditch Magistrates Court Babcock and Brown Properties Ltd 
			 Hull, Beverly and Bridlington Magistrates Courts Mowlems Plc and Innisfree 
			 Derby and Chesterfield Magistrates Courts Babcock and Brown Properties Ltd 
			 Manchester Magistrates Court Group 4 now GSL, Carillion and Societe Generale 
			 Exeter Combined Courts HSBC Ltd, Alfred McAlpine Ltd and Sodexho Ltd 
			 Ipswich and Cambridge Crown Courts Mowlems Plc 
			 Sheffield Family Hearing Centre Palecastle Ltd 
			 Avon and Somerset PFINorth Somerset (Worle) Magistrates Courthouse Amey, Equion and Bank of Scotland 
			 Bristol Magistrates Court Amey, Equion and Bank of Scotland 
			 Probate Records Storage Facility Iron Mountain

Home Detention Curfews: Greater London

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were released from each prison in London under home detention curfew orders in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The following table shows the number of prisoners released under the Home Detention Curfew scheme from prison establishments in London in each month in 2007, which is the latest year for which the data are available.
	
		
			   Belmarsh  Brixton  Feltham  Holloway  Latchmere House  Pentonville  Wormwood Scrubs  Wandsworth 
			 All 2007 70 30 * 110 * 60 160 40 
			 January 2007 10 * 0 10 0 10 10 * 
			 February 2007 * * 0 10 0 10 10 * 
			 March 2007 10 0 * 20 0 * 20 * 
			 April 2007 10 * 0 10 0 10 10 * 
			 May 2007 10 * 0 10 0 10 10 * 
			 June 2007 10 * 0 10 0 * 20 10 
			 July 2007 10 10 0 * 0 10 10 * 
			 August 2007 * * 0 10 0 10 10 * 
			 September 2007 10 * 0 10 0 * 10 * 
			 October 2007 * 0 0 10 * 10 10 * 
			 November 2007 10 * * 10 * 10 20 * 
			 December 2007 * * * 10 0 * 20 10 
			  Note: Figures rounded to the nearest 10; '*' indicates number of releases is fewer than 5 (but not 0). 
		
	
	The Home Detention Curfew scheme enables suitable prisoners primarily serving between three months and less than four years to be released subject to an electronically monitored curfew up to 135 days earlier than the half way point of their sentence. The scheme has been very successful in providing prisoners with a smoother and more effective re-integration into the community enabling prisoners to be released from prison early, while still subject to restrictions placed on their liberty. HDC helps prisoners resume employment or training at an earlier stage and so support themselves and their families.
	The decision to grant release on HDC rests with the Governor and eligible prisoners must pass a risk assessment, which includes an assessment of home circumstances carried out by the probation service, before release can be granted.
	Prisoners subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and those serving extended sentences for public protection are statutorily excluded from release on HDC. Offenders serving sentences for certain serious violent offences, including prisoners serving sentences for terrorism legislation offences and prisoners with any history of sexual offending are presumed unsuitable unless there are exceptional circumstances.
	No prisoners are released on HDC unless they have served at least one quarter of their sentence subject to a minimum of 30 days in custody. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing, and have therefore been rounded to the nearest 10.

National Offender Management Service: Recruitment

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice by what method of competition the Director General of the National Offender Management Service was recruited; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The director general of NOMS Phil Wheatley was recruited to this position by a managed appointment.

Swaleside Prison

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) members of HM Prison Service Board and  (b) Prison Service area managers have been employed at HM Prison Swaleside in the last 12 months.

David Hanson: No members of NOMS board or PS area managers have been employed at HMP Swaleside in the last 12 months.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Members: Allowances

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Leader of the House how many hon. Members have been required to reimburse the Members' Vote following a determination that a parliamentary report funded from the Communications Allowance fell outside the rules which apply to that allowance in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Chris Bryant: In the 2008-09 financial year the Department was asked by Members to review some 1,250 individual publications about half of which were parliamentary reports. Some 50 per cent. of documents reviewed were approved without amendment. One Member was asked to repay costs relating to a parliamentary report as a result of a case considered by the Standards and Privileges Committee and a further five Members were asked to repay costs as a result of decisions by the Department of Resources, either following a complaint or a review of a claim.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Prison Officers: Safety

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Government is taking to ensure the safety of prison officers in the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

Paul Goggins: The safety of prison officers is of the utmost importance to Government. A range of measures are in place to ensure that staff are properly protected.

Dissident Republicans

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of recent activities by dissident Republicans in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Following the recent attacks by criminals calling themselves dissident Republicans, the House will wish to know that three individuals have been charged with the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll and one charged with the murders of Snappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey.

Police Reserve

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his plans are for the future of the full-time police reserve in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The future of the full-time reserve is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of the PSNI. He will take decisions on the basis of operational need and his assessment of the security situation.

Police Officers: Safety and Security

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the safety and security of police officers in that service.

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the safety and security of police officers in that service.

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the safety and security of police officers in that service.

Shaun Woodward: The safety of police officers is a matter of regular discussion between the Chief Constable and me. We will continue to take all proportionate measures to protect both the public and those who protect the public.

Dissident Political Organisations

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent estimate he has made of the number of people belonging to dissident political organisations in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones).

Decommissioning Weapons

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent progress has been made in respect of decommissioning weapons held by Loyalist paramilitary groups; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The Independent International commission on decommissioning has confirmed that they are making meaningful progress and will report again in August. Parliament has made it clear that Loyalist paramilitary organisations have this one last opportunity to decommission their weapons.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his latest estimate is of his Department's capital expenditure in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10,  (c) 2010-11 and  (d) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Capital DEL (departmental expenditure limits) for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 were set at the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. The latest Capital DEL tables, including figures for the Northern Ireland Office, are published on page 214 of the pre-Budget report in November 2008:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
	The Government have not set departments' Capital DEL budgets for years beyond 2010-11. Capital DEL budgets for 2011-12 and beyond are a matter for the next spending review. The Government do, however, publish projections for PSNI (Public Sector Net Investment) over the forecast period at Budgets and pre-Budget reports.

Departmental Training

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department's policy is on the practice of holding departmental away days outside the Department's buildings.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office policy on departmental away days encourages use of Government buildings as the venue for events.

Departmental Training

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on media training for each Minister in his Department in each of the last three years; how many sessions have been provided; and which organisation provided such training.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office has not delivered or incurred expenditure on media training for ministers in the last three years.

Organised Crime

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the relationship between paramilitary activity and organised crime in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: As the 20(th) report from the Independent Monitoring Commission has made clear, criminals with links to a variety of paramilitary organisations continue to be involved in organised crime in Northern Ireland.

SCOTLAND

China

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2009,  Official Report, column 735W, on China, what the cost was of civil servant and special adviser support during his visit to China.

Ann McKechin: The travel and accommodation costs recorded are 12,793.36.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officials in his Department are suspended; how many are suspended on full pay; for how long each has been suspended; and what the reasons are for each such suspension.

Ann McKechin: No staff working in the Scotland Office are suspended.

TRANSPORT

European Rail Traffic Management System

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress there has been on the introduction of the European Rail Traffic Management System, with particular reference to the UK.

Paul Clark: The first deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System in the UK is under way on the Cambrian lines in Wales. Level 2 of the European Rail Traffic Management system will be installed on the infrastructure from Sutton Bridge Junction to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli and the existing line side signalling will be decommissioned.
	The Arriva Train Wales fleet of 24 Class 158 vehicles will be fitted with European Rail Traffic Management on-board equipment, as well as three class 97 locomotives which will act as pilot locomotives for non-fitted vehicles.
	The first part of the route, from Pwllheli to Harlech, is expected to enter into passenger service in the third quarter of 2009. The remainder of the route is expected to enter service in the final quarter of 2009.
	This first deployment on the Cambrian lines enables the UK to develop the rules and processes needed for the successful roll-out of the European Rail Traffic Management System across the UK.
	The national roll-out of the system is described in the UK 'ERTMS National Implementation Plan' published on the Department for Transport website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/adobepdf/165234/349552/ukertmsplan.pdf

European Rail Traffic Management System

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies have been carried out on the introduction of the European Rail Traffic Management System, with particular reference to the UK; and what the results of those studies were.

Paul Clark: In 2007 the Department for Transport commissioned a study into the suitability of the European Rail Traffic Management System for use in high density networks such as Thameslink. The study also evaluated whether the system could be successful integrated with an Automatic Train Operation overlay. The study contract was awarded to Parsons in October 2007.
	The study concluded the following:
	That the European Rail Traffic Management System is capable of delivering high density rail service operations; and
	There is nothing within the European Union specifications for the European Rail Traffic Management System that prevent it from being integrated with Automatic Train Operation.

European Rail Traffic Management System

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the European Rail Traffic Management System could be introduced across the rail network, with particular reference to the UK.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has notified its European Rail Traffic Management System deployment plan to the European Commission. It was notified in 2007 and is published on the Department for Transport website at
	www.dft.gsi.gov.uk
	It describes the national roll-out plan for the European Rail Traffic Management System, of which the first deployment is on the Cambrian lines, due to enter service in the third quarter of 2009. The overall deployment will be evaluated in the context of the lessons learnt from the first deployment on Cambrian.
	The plan is being deployed in a number of member states. At the end of 2008, approximately 2600 km of lines within the European Union were in commercial European Rail Traffic Management System service within nine countries, including Switzerland.

High Speed Trains

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the letter which he placed in the Library from the Permanent Secretary of his Department to a director of High Speed Two Limited of 14 January 2009, if he will place in the Library a copy of the programme of anticipated expenditure and breakdown of the costs of High Speed Two Limited.

Paul Clark: A breakdown of High Speed Two's proposed expenditure budget (up to the end of the financial year 2009-10) is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Total (including VAT) () 
			 Staff costs 2,654,458 
			 Board costs 209,226 
			 Facility costs 175,393 
			 Travel and Subsistence 38,500 
			 Admin costs 44,799 
			 Project costs and consultancy costs 3,944,500 
			 Total 7,066,876

Lighting

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2009,  Official Report, column 958W, on lighting, what guidance  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies has issued to local authorities on night-time street lighting and efficiency savings.

Paul Clark: It is for each local highway authority to decide what level of service they wish their street lighting network to deliver; and decisions on reducing the hours of operation will need to take into account the reasons for which the lighting was provided in the first place. Any reduction in energy use would have to be balanced against any potential adverse effects.
	Where local authorities are considering reducing operating hours, the Government encourage them to consider the issues in Invest to Save, produced by the UK Lighting Board and the Institution of Lighting Engineers (available from www.ile.org.uk). The Government also supports the Carbon Trust's Local Authorities Carbon Management Programme, which provides councils with technical and change management support and guidance to help them realise carbon emissions savings from street lighting.

Motor Vehicles: Taxation

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many verified reports of untaxed motor vehicles the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has received in the last 12 months; and how many of these have been  (a) acted upon by the DVLA and  (b) referred to the relevant police authority.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Within the period April 2008-March 2009, the agency received 472,858 untaxed vehicle reports. This resulted in the issue of 227,719 out-of-court settlements and 150,583 court summonses. The agency does not refer verified reports to police authorities.
	The agency receives untaxed vehicle reports from various sources including the police, local authorities, ANPR and wheel-clamping units. Following investigation, where appropriate, enforcement action is taken.
	Reasons for non-pursuit of cases include:
	lack of a confirmed keeper;
	lack of a target address;
	cases closed where doubt as to liability exists; and
	closures on compassionate grounds.

Motorway Service Areas

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department had with private contractors operating motorway service stations when preparing its tiredness kills campaign.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport's partnership marketing agency approached motorway service area operators to promote materials for the Department's Driver Tiredness campaign which ran between March and May 2008. There have been no other discussions with regard to the Driver Tiredness campaign.

Network Rail: Incentives

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the documents held by his Department setting out the incentive structure for Network Rail.

Paul Clark: Decisions on the bonuses payable to Network Rail staff are a matter for the company's independent Remuneration Committee, not for the Government. The details of the company's annual Management Incentive Plan are published in its annual report and accounts, which can be found on the Network Rail website at
	www.networkrail.co.uk
	Bonuses are determined against key performance indicator targets set by the independent Office of Rail Regulation in accordance with condition 16 of Network Rail's network licence.
	On 1 April the Office of Rail Regulation introduced changes to Network Rail's network licence to strengthen the company's accountability. These require Network Rail's Remuneration Committee to be more transparent in its executive bonus decision making process; and to publish an annual account of how the bonus awards have been calculated. The formal licence modification notice can be found on the Office of Rail Regulation's website at
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk.

Network Rail: Pay

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is consulted on the  (a) salary and  (b) bonuses of board members of Network Rail; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: Decisions on the remuneration and incentivisation of Network Rail's executive directors are a matter for the company's independent Remuneration Committee. Bonuses are determined against key performance indicator targets set by the independent Office of Regulation in accordance with condition 16 of Network Rail's network licence. The terms of Network Rail's Management Incentive Policy can be modified only with the consent of the Office of Rail Regulation.
	As part of the Office of Rail Regulation's Periodic Review 2008 Final Determinations, changes were introduced on 1 April to Network Rail's network licence to strengthen the company's accountability. These require Network Rail's Remuneration Committee to be more transparent in its executive bonus decision-making process; to publish an annual account of how the bonus awards have been calculated; and to explain how it has taken into account input from the Office of Rail Regulation.

Parking: Fees and Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the policy is of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies on whether their staff who have a parking space in an area with workplace parking charges should have the cost of the charge met by their employer.

Paul Clark: There are no areas with a workplace parking levy. The Department for Transport is currently considering whether to confirm Nottingham City council's workplace parking levy order.

Parking: Public Consultation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of each response to his Department's consultation on Workplace Parking LevyCompleting the Legal Framework.

Paul Clark: An announcement will be made in due course.

Public Transport: Rural Areas

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the cost of the Taxiplus pilot scheme as proposed in paragraph 8.10 of the Commission for Integrated Transport's study, A New Approach to Rural Public Transport.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport is considering the recommendations made by the Commission for Integrated Transport in its report A New Approach to Rural Public Transport. We have not made any detailed cost estimate of the recommendation for a Taxiplus pilot scheme.

Railways

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will take steps to ensure that Network Rail does not defer essential renewal work;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure there is no reduction in the frequency of signal maintenance on railway lines;
	(3)  if he will take steps to ensure that there is no reduction in the frequency of rail track inspections.

Paul Clark: These are operational matters for Network Rail as it aims to deliver the value for money needed to meet the output and efficiency targets for maintenance and renewal of the national network over the next five years of Control Period 4, set by the Office of Rail Regulation. Details of these targets can be found in Periodic review 2008Determination of Network Rail's outputs and funding for 2009-14. As the industry economic and safety regulator, the Office of Rail Regulation will independently monitor the work.
	Network Rail has announced that it will be investing almost 4 billion on an intensive track renewals programme to further improve the network between 2009-14. Total outputs will remain as previously planned, though phasing adjustments in the early part of the five-year period will result in less track renewal work in 2009-10 to allow time for new, more efficient working practices to take effect. Network Rail has made clear that only non-critical work will be deferred.
	Network Rail's decision relates solely to track renewals. The company has assured the Department for Transport that maintenance and track inspections will not be affected.

Railways

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the likely change in the number of rail passengers in the 12 months from April 2009.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not make forecasts of year-on-year changes in rail passenger numbers. The Government's High Level Output Specification for the railways for the period 2009-14 is set out in the White Paper Delivering a Sustainable Railway, published in July 2007. This forecasts rail passenger numbers for 2008-09 and specifies the additional numbers to be accommodated on the network by the end of the 2013-14.

Railways: South East

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any bidders for the South Central rail franchise run existing rail franchises to which his Department has assigned red light status as part of its routine review of the operational and financial performance of train operating companies.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport assesses the financial profile of all the bidders as part of the evaluation of all franchise tenders.
	The Department does not comment on the financial performance of the companies operating existing franchises as that information is commercially sensitive.

Railways: Standards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish statistics showing the number of delay minutes on the railways in each year since 1997, broken down by cause of delay.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not hold information specifically about delay minutes on the railways broken down by cause of delay.
	Data on rail performance, including on delay minutes, are published by the Office of Rail Regulation. For recent annual assessments of Network Rail and whole-industry performance, the hon. Member may wish to consult the Office of Rail Regulation's website at:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.2050
	Historically published information can also be viewed at:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1240

Roads: Birmingham

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has provided for highway maintenance and improvement in Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency in the last three years for which figures are available.

Paul Clark: Birmingham city council is the local highway authority for the area covered by the Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency. The funding support allocated to the authority by my Department for highway maintenance and improvements for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  000 
			   2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Capital highways maintenance 6,571 7,229 8,313 
			 Strengthening of structures on the primary route network 2,650 725 715 
			 Resource funding for maintenance of de-trunked roads 1,288 1,321 1,354 
		
	
	Birmingham city council are a partner in the joint West Midlands local transport plan (LTP). This LTP was allocated a road safety grant for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. The details of the allocation are:
	
		
			  000 
			   2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Road Safety capital grant 844.889 808.829 835.591 
			 Road Safety resource grant 3,797.355 3,635.286 3,755.563 
		
	
	It is for Birmingham city council to decide how their funding is spent in line with the authority's priorities.
	In addition, central funding support for services, including routine highways, is provided by Communities and local Government through the revenue support grant. This funding is not ring fenced.

Roads: Sight Impaired

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce a moratorium on all shared surface streets incorporating roads and pavements until after the publication of his Department's research into the effect of shared surface street design on partially sighted people.

Paul Clark: We have no plans for a moratorium on shared surface street schemes. The Department for Transport is aware of and appreciates the concerns of some disabled people regarding shared surfaces, but there is no conclusive evidence that such schemes are inherently less safe than conventionally kerbed streets. There is a considerable amount of anecdotal evidence that shared space schemes (which often include shared surfaces) enhance the public realm, and can deliver accessibility benefits without compromising safety.
	The Department intends to make evidence-based policy in this area, and to understand how shared space could be made to work for all road users, including visually impaired people. It is for this reason that the Department is conducting a comprehensive two-year research project into shared space, aimed at informing future policy and guidance.

Roads: Snow and Ice

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much salt was  (a) ordered and  (b) received by the Highways Agency from Salt Union in each week between 1 January and 16 February 2009;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of  (a) his Department's and  (b) the Highways Agency's correspondence on delivery plans and priorities with Salt Union which took place between 26 January and 9 February 2009;
	(3)  what assistance with salt supplies the Highways Agency provided to Gloucestershire County Council between 26 January and 9 February 2009;
	(4)  pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1102W, on roads: snow and ice, if he will place in the Library a copy of the advice issued daily to salt suppliers on each day between 26 January and 9 February 2009.

Paul Clark: holding answer 26 March 2009
	The Highways Agency's contracted service providers are responsible for delivery of the winter service on the strategic road network, including the purchase of road salt. The Highways Agency does not purchase salt directly and does not hold information on orders placed or salt received by its service providers.
	The central Government led advisory salt prioritisation process was based upon information provided by trunk road and local highway authorities on salt stocks, estimates of future usage derived from Met Office forecasts, and an assessment of the available market supply. The process involved officials from the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Highways Agency, the Local Government Association and the Department for Transport.
	During the weekend of the 7 and 8 February 2009, one of the primary salt suppliers could not make deliveries due to drivers hours restrictions. The Highways Agency provided haulage to deliver 4,457 tonnes of salt to 55 local authorities in England, including 784 tonnes to Gloucestershire county council.
	Agreement was sought from the salt suppliers for the Department for Transport to provide the correspondence between them and the Department, covering delivery plans and priorities. We were requested not to provide any information which could identify named customers, as that information was considered to be commercial confidential. The following summary of advice provided on priorities for deliveries between 26 January and 9 February by Government to the salt suppliers therefore includes aggregated data only.
	
		
			  Date of advice  Delivery date  Number of local highways authorities suppliers advised as a priority for delivery( 1)  Number of national highways authorities suppliers advised as a priority for delivery( 2)  Total tonnage 
			 6 February 7 February 31  3,232 
			 6 February 7 February  0 0 
			 7 February 8 February 22  1,377 
			 7 February 8 February  9 2,737 
			 8 February 9 February 26  1,775 
			 8 February 9 February  9 2,325 
			 9 February 10 February 38  3,925 
			 9 February 10 February  3 1,075 
			 (1) Includes English and Welsh authorities. (2) Highway agencies advised deliveries are recorded as a separate location for each delivery. Scotland's deliveries were for the 9 February only and are recorded as a single entry for all locations. 
		
	
	The Department for Transport has invited the UK Roads Liaison Group to review the lessons learnt from the recent salt supply difficulties, including whether prioritisation arrangements could be improved, should it operate in the future. Gloucestershire county council are to be represented on the steering group for the review.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requirements there are upon local authorities to install signs alerting motorists to the presence of speed cameras.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Department for Transport circular 01/2007 provides guidance to local authorities on the deployment, visibility and signing of speed and red light cameras. This came into effect on 1 April 2007 and recommends the use of camera warning signs where permitted and practicable. The signing is contained in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) and its use is not mandatory. However, in order for a speed limit to be enforced all speed limit signing must be lawful and correct and in accordance with TSRGD. The guidance was placed in the Library of the House and is also available on the Department's website.

Tower Bridge

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the  (a) legislative and  (b) administrative requirements for Tower Bridge to be raised on demand for the passage of vessels.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Under the 1885 Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act the Corporation is responsible for the administration and operation of Tower Bridge. The Act states that priority must be given to vessels and it is for the Corporation to decide whether to review these requirements.
	Bridge operators are aware of the impact bridge lifts have upon local traffic and work to minimise disruption. Certain strict criteria must be met before vessels are allowed to pass through the bridge.

Transport Innovation Fund

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local authorities have submitted bids for Transport Innovation Fund funding; and for what projects each is bidding.

Paul Clark: So far Transport Innovation Fund Proposals have been submitted by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities but, following a local referendum, they have decided not to proceed with them. We continue to work with a number of other authorities as they consider their congestion problems and the role that demand management, including road pricing, alongside better public transport could play in tackling them and, if appropriate, develop proposals.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many objections to proposals for the development of on-shore wind farms were lodged by the Highways Agency in each year since 2004.

Paul Clark: Since 2004 the Highways Agency has objected on road safety grounds to four proposals for the development of on-shore wind farms: one in 2005 and three in 2007.

TREASURY

Banks: Ireland

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on the number of British nationals who had money deposited with  (a) Bank of Ireland and  (b) Anglo Irish Bank in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what advice he has given to British nationals with money deposited with  (a) the Bank of Ireland and  (b) the Anglo Irish Bank in the event of a default; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: As a matter of course, HM Treasury does not comment on individual financial institutions.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Asbestos

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many prosecutions the Health and Safety Executive has brought against local authorities in respect of incidents involving asbestos in each of the last three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The number of prosecutions brought by the Health and Safety Executive against individual local authorities in respect of incidents involving asbestos in each of its last three work years for which figures are available is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of prosecutions 
			 2005-06 2 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 4 
		
	
	For the six authorities prosecuted, more than one charge was brought in every case. That is a total of 14 separate charges resulting in a conviction with one finding of not guilty.

Carer's Allowance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of an annual increase in the earnings limit for carer's allowance of  (a) 5,  (b) 7.50,  (c) 10,  (d) 12.50,  (e) 15,  (f) 17.50,  (g) 20,  (h) 22.50 and  (i) 25 in each of the next six years;

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of increasing the earnings limit in carer's allowance by  (a) 10 per week,  (b) 20 per week and  (c) 50 per week; and if he will estimate the number of people who would become entitled to the benefit in each case.

Jonathan R Shaw: Robust evidence on the possible behavioural effects from adjusting the earnings limit for carer's allowance is not available and we are therefore not able to estimate accurately the costs for extending the earnings limit for the specified amounts.
	We recognise the importance of supporting carers who want to combine work with caring. However, we also need to maintain a balance between the income of carers on benefits who can combine paid work with caring, and those who cannot.

Children: Maintenance

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much the Child Support Agency spent on paternity tests in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many requests for DNA paternity tests were lodged with the Child Support Agency by non-resident fathers in each of the last five years; and how many such requests were granted;
	(3)  on what grounds the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission may decline to carry out a paternity test on the request of a presumed non-resident father.

Kitty Ussher: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system including the Child Support Agency. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	and
	and
	On what grounds the Child Support Agency may decline to carry out a paternity test on the request of a presumed non-resident father.
	The Child Support Agency is able to presume paternity without the need for a DNA test where certain conditions are met, for example where the non-resident parent was married to the parent with care at the time of conception or is named on the birth certificate. These conditions in full are set out in Section 26 of the Child Support Act 1991. Where the parent with care casts doubt as to our presumption of paternity, or where the non-resident parent has provided evidence to show that he may not be the father, the Child Support Agency does have the discretion to ask a DNA testing company, approved by the Ministry of Justice, to undertake a DNA test. This is subject to both parents agreeing to such a test being carried out.
	Where the non-resident parent is unable to produce evidence to support his challenge to the Commission's presumption of paternity, the Child Support Agency may decline a request to be referred to a DNA testing company, however the non-resident parent retains the right to seek to rebut such a presumption through the courts. The Child Support Agency will however also accept the results of any DNA test obtained privately by the parents, provided that the Agency is satisfied that the test was properly carried out by a company approved by the Ministry of Justice.
	The Child Support Agency does not hold any information on the number of non-resident parents who request a DNA test and the number subsequently referred by the Child Support Agency to an approved DNA testing company. Such information as is available on the amount spent by the Child Support Agency in relation to DNA tests and the number of DNA tests undertaken on behalf of the Child Support Agency are set out in the attached table.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Child Support AgencyDNA testing 
			   CSA spend on DNA tests( 1 ) ( million)  Number of DNA tests taken( 2) 
			 2003-04 0.67 2,444 
			 2004-05 0.55 2,888 
			 2005-06 0.54 2,454 
			 2006-07 0.39 3,602 
			 2007-08 0.45 3,474 
			 (1) Includes refunds for DNA tests privately funded. The Agency is unable to separately identify receipts collected from non-resident parents for Agency funded tests where paternity was proven. In normal circumstances, a full refund would be made if an alleged non-resident parent paid for a test privately and was proven not to be the father. (2) Includes information on the number of DNA test undertaken on behalf of the Child Support Agency. Does not include those tests taken independently on behalf of either parent.

Citibank

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, column 861W, on departmental bank services, what the  (a) purpose and  (b) monetary value is of the contract between his Department and Citibank.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department's contract with Citibank is for the payment of pensions and benefits to customers living overseas.
	The value of the contract is commercially confidential.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to address the effect on levels of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department of its ICT purchases since the publication of the Greening Government ICT Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department does not own its IT equipment, it is provided under contractual arrangements with the Department's IT suppliers.
	The Department has made great inroads in reducing its carbon footprint through active management of its IT services, since the end of 2005 when it re-aligned its contracts with BT and EDS. This work is continuing.
	In the summer of 2008 the Department announced its strategy to re-compete its existing contracts over a five year period. A key element of this future contracting strategy is to contractually commit the IT providers to reduce the carbon footprint of the services they deliver to the Department.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average server capacity utilisation by each division of his Department was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Under the Department's contractual arrangements with its IT suppliers the Department pays only for the IT services it uses, providing the maximum value for money for the taxpayer.
	The Department's IT suppliers provide the required capacity based on quarterly forecasts of the projected use of the Department's computer systems.
	In this way the Department's IT suppliers are encouraged to ensure that the equipment they provide and its capacity is sufficient for the Department's consumption needs but that any excess capacity is minimised as it remains the responsibility of the IT supplier.
	The information is not available in the format required and to provide it would be at disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) printers and  (b) multi-function devices with printing functions were in use in each division of his Department in each of the last five years; how many such devices had a function enabling two-sided printing; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: A total of 15,260 printers have been installed within the Department for Work and Pensions in the last five financial years. The breakdown per year is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 4,260 
			 2005-06 2,157 
			 2006-07 1,256 
			 2007-08 5,975 
			 2008-09 (1)1,628 
			 (1) Including 16 multi-function devices. 
		
	
	All printers and multi-function devices installed during this period have either automatic or manual two-sided print capability, apart from a total of 5,089 printers which are installed within customer facing Jobpoint Kiosks (typically in customer areas of Jobcentre Plus offices). They were installed as follows:
	2007-084,752
	2008-09337

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of IT products in each category procured for each division of his Department were compliant with the Government's Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department does not own its IT equipment, it is provided under contractual arrangements with the Department's IT suppliers.
	All the 122,558 personal computers and monitors deployed as part of the Department's most recent desktop refresh meet the Class Leader Specification Requirements.
	All 8,903 laptop computers deployed as part of that refresh meet at least the Minimum Specification Requirements.
	In the summer of 2008 the Department announced its strategy to re-compete its existing contracts over a five year period. As part of this future contracting strategy the Department is mandating compliance with the Quick Wins Criteria for any appropriate equipment deployed as part of a managed service.

Departmental Mobile Phones and Computers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many  (a) BlackBerrys and  (b) other mobile telephones have been provided to (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005;
	(2)  how much has been spent on  (a) the purchase of and  (b) bills for (i) BlackBerrys and (ii) other mobile telephones for (A) Ministers, (B) special advisers and (C) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005;
	(3)  how many laptop computers have been provided to  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers and  (c) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005; and at what cost.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department does not purchase BlackBerrys, mobile telephones or laptops. They are provided under contractual arrangements with one of the Department's IT suppliers. The average number in use and cost of providing the service since 2007-08 is as follows:
	
		
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			 Number of BlackBerrys 537 1,040 
			 Cost of providing BlackBerrys () 647,082 1,005,575 
			
			 Number of mobile phones 19,487 17,353 
			 Cost of providing mobile phones () 1,455,348 1,443,752 
			
			 Number of laptops 7,642 7,296 
			 Cost of providing laptops () 5,315,048 5,142,381 
		
	
	There are currently four BlackBerrys allocated to Ministers and four allocated to special advisers. There is one mobile telephone allocated to a Minister and one allocated to a special adviser. There are five laptops allocated to Ministers and four allocated to special advisers. When Ministers or special advisers leave the Department all IT and telephony is returned and then reallocated to other users in the Department. Records are therefore only available for current users.
	Numbers prior to 2007-08 for the Department as a whole are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Directgov

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) mission statement and  (b) objectives of directgov are.

Jonathan R Shaw: Directgov's vision is to be the citizen-focused digital channel for Government offering a high quality experience for customers by delivering information and services that meet most of their needs within the site in a consistent and accessible style. It will be driven by citizen needs and will be easy and interesting to use.
	Directgov will be at the heart of the relationship between Government and citizen in the digital space. Directgov has the following strategic aims, split into what Directgov will be in future for the citizen, and for the Departments.
	 Directgov will give the citizen:
	Easy and effective digital access to all the public services and information they need, when and where they need it;
	Trusted delivery of tailored services to give citizens a simple and convenient interaction with Government;
	New ways of communicating, utilising strategic partnerships, community groups and social media to provide better interaction with Government.
	 Directgov will give the Departments:
	Trusted digital delivery channels that encourage people to interact with Government online;
	The ability to connect services and information across Government into logical customer journeys to provide better citizen experience;
	Advice and guidance on the most cost-effective and appropriate ways to deliver services through digital channels in the context of the wider channel strategy for Departments.
	For the online channel, the two priorities for the CSR07 period are maintenance of an increasing breadth of day-to-day service delivery; and the completion of web convergence as websites with citizen-facing content are rationalised and content moved to Directgov and businesslink.gov.uk
	For mobile and television, the challenges lie in matching the right service, target audience and channel together, and in building enabling capabilities that can be made available for service providers to use.
	Directgov is in the process of building on its current strategy for CSR10 and beyond.

Directgov

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of directgov as a vehicle for digital inclusion.

Jonathan R Shaw: Directgov is currently engaged in a number of digital inclusion activities that through feedback and evaluation will help inform its longer term strategy in this area.
	Directgov are working with intermediaries who can offer mediated access to those that are currently digitally excluded, starting with the nine major regional UK online centres across the UK. UK online centre staff will encourage customers to use Directgov, and will guide new users through the process. Once they have completed their initial use of Directgov, users will be invited to complete an online survey. This will allow Directgov to collect information on new users' experiences with Directgov so that we can continue to improve the customer experience.
	Research has shown that Directgov's TV service on Sky and Virgin increases reach to the socially excluded citizen. Viewers of Directgov's interactive television are older (69 per cent. over 35; 47 per cent. over 45), not working (57 per cent.) and with nearly half (45 per cent.) rarely (i.e. less than once a week) or never using the internet.
	The recent launch on Freeview and on analogue TV via Teletext enables citizens who do not subscribe to a TV provider to access Directgov content via Freeview Teletext, which means that Directgov is now available to virtually all TV viewers.
	Directgov is reaching new audiences on web and non-web enabled kiosks, laptops and PCs in a diverse range of locations, including health centres, Age Concern and an Army community centre as part of the Starthere project with NHS Choices. All user journeys are tracked and there is also a questionnaire that asks about the user experience and people's background. The final report will be available in June 2009.
	Directgov is also working closely with CLG on the Digital Inclusion Action Plan and the Digital Britain Report to ensure that it is involved in the strategic direction of these programmes. These proposals are likely to include closer working with partnership organisations, such as CAB and children's centres.

Employment

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the likely effects of the recession on levels of employment in  (a) rural and  (b) urban areas.

Tony McNulty: The Department does not forecast levels of employment or unemployment. We have not yet assessed the impact of the recession on employment rates at local authority district level. Although employment data are available by local authority districts, these data come from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and will be susceptible to sample fluctuation. We use the APS for sub-regional analysis because it has a larger sample size and is more robust at a sub-regional level than the quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS).
	In addition, the latest APS data available at present cover October 2007 to September 2008, so it does not provide an up-to-date assessment of the impact of the recession. As a short term indicator we think that the best measure to use is the claimant count.
	Analysis of claimant count data between February 2008 and February 2009 by local authority district shows that local authority districts that can be classified as rural have experienced larger percentage increases in the claimant count, but in absolute terms these areas tend to have a lower proportion of their working age population claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), and on average the percentage point increase in the proportion of working age residents claiming JSA is similar across rural and urban areas.
	We will continue to monitor the impact of the recession across the country and for different types of area.
	The percentage increase in claimant count, average claimant count rate, and the percentage point increase in claimant count rate for local authority districts in England aggregated according to DEFRA's classification is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Local authority classification  Average claimant count Rate (Feb 08)  Average claimant count rate (Feb 09)  Percentage point increase in average claimant count rate (Feb 08 -09)  Percentage increase in claimant count (February 08-09) 
			 Major Urban 2.5 4.0 1.5 54 
			 Large Urban 2.1 3.8 1.7 71 
			 Other Urban 2.2 4.1 1.9 85 
			 Significant Rural 1.6 3.2 1.6 98 
			 Rural - 50 1.5 3.1 1.6 109 
			 Rural - 80 1.3 2.7 1.4 106 
			  Source:  NOMIS

Employment Schemes

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what form sanctions will take in the progression to work pathfinders for participants who fail to engage with support without good cause.

Jonathan R Shaw: Within the progression to work pathfinders we plan to test the key principles of the model of escalating sanctions set out in Realising Potential: A Vision for Personalised Conditionality and Support, an independent review published by Professor Gregg in December 2008. In the White Paper Raising Expectations And Increasing Support: Reforming Welfare For The Future (Cm7506), published in December 2008, we set out our intention to test an escalating sanctions model and are currently working up the detail of how this model will operate.

Employment Schemes

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many payments have been made in each region to date under the employers' golden hello scheme announced by his Department on 12 January 2009.

Tony McNulty: We announced on 12 January that a new six month offer would be launched in April 2009. That offer has been in place since 6 April 2009. Information on payments will be available at the appropriate time.

Housing Benefit

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of housing benefit payments to tenants of private rented accommodation since the introduction of the latest allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 20 April 2009
	The Local Housing Allowance was rolled out nationally in April 2008 for customers in the deregulated private rented sector who make a new claim for housing benefit and for existing customers who move address. National implementation followed extensive and independent evaluation of the introduction of Local Housing Allowance in nine pathfinder authorities from 2003-04 as well as testing of operational readiness in a further nine pilot areas in 2005.
	We are closely monitoring how the scheme is working in practice and have committed to completing a full review over a two year period from the commencement of its roll-out in April 2008.

Industrial Accidents

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps his Department has taken to improve support for victims of workplace accidents following convictions under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Jonathan R Shaw: HSE has a well-established approach to supporting the bereaved and the victims of accidents at work. This is set out in HSE's policy, which is available on its web pages. In addition, HSE produces printed packs for bereaved families and information leaflets for the bereaved and victims of accidents and occupational ill health. These include explanations of HSE's role, the investigation and criminal prosecution process, access to information collected by HSE for use in compensation claims and other organisations that can help and support relatives through their grief. These are updated as appropriate; the packs for the bereaved in both Scotland and in England and Wales have been recently updated. HSE also contributes to support through the work-related death protocol, which involves HSE, local authorities, ACPO, British Transport police, ORR and CPS.

Jobcentre Plus

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account the business plan of Jobcentre Plus for 2009-10 has taken of the measures proposed in the Welfare Reform Bill.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what account the business plan of Jobcentre Plus for 2009-10 has taken of the measures proposed in the Welfare Reform Bill. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The Department regularly reviews the capacity and capability of Jobcentre Plus to deliver effectively the full range of services it is responsible for. During the economic downturn Jobcentre Plus has a critical role to play in supporting people getting back into work and I believe it is well placed to do so.
	In 2009-2010 Jobcentre Plus will deliver further Government welfare reforms to help people find and stay in work, working in partnership with other organisations and developing our services for customers. As any new measures are introduced by the Government, Jobcentre Plus will ensure it has the capacity to deliver these. We take account of such new requirements when we assess our workforce, estates and IT capacity as part of our regular planning.
	Our plans for the year ahead will be set out in more detail in the Jobcentre Plus Business Plan 2009/2010 which is due to be published in May.

Jobcentre Plus: Recruitment

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what  (a) qualifications and  (b) experience will be required of applicants for Jobcentre Plus drug co-ordinator posts; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: All Drug Co-ordinators are required to have an understanding of the wider drug strategy, partnership working and Jobcentre Plus aims, objectives and priorities to ensure the correct skills and experience are brought to this role.
	All Jobcentre Plus co-ordinators will receive specific drug awareness training, delivered by the 'Training Exchange' a company that specialises in drug awareness and substance misuse training.
	Drug Co-ordinators are expected to have knowledge of:
	local and regional partnerships and their roles and responsibilities in relation to drug treatment services
	Jobcentre Plus programmes, services and processes, which will ensure that Jobcentre Plus advisers within their district are aware of the help and support Jobcentre Plus can offer customers, and
	how the wider drugs strategy fits within the wider welfare to work agenda.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants there were per Jobcentre Plus  (a) staff member and  (b) personal adviser in each of the last 12 months, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Ruth Owen :
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many Jobseeker's Allowance claimants there were per (a) staff Jobcentre Plus member and (b) personal adviser in each of the last 12 months, broken down by region. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mel Groves as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. Mel Groves is currently on Annual Leave and I am replying in his absence.
	Jobcentre Plus has a key role in helping both individuals and employers in the current economic situation. Our priority is to ensure people receive the benefits they are entitled to and the support and training necessary to get back to work as soon as possible, and help employers fill their vacancies with suitably qualified people.
	Working with a range of partners, we promote work as the best form of welfare, helping unemployed and economically inactive people of working age move closer to the labour market and compete effectively for work, while providing appropriate help and support for those without work.
	In addition to Jobseeker's Allowance, Jobcentre Plus staff deal with a wide range of benefits including Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance and Bereavement Benefits. I enclose a copy of the available information and a copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	
		
			  Ratio of jobseeker's allowance claimants to total Jobcentre Plus staff 
			   Total  East  East Midlands  London  North East  North West  Scotland  South East  South West  Wales  West Midlands  Yorks  and the Humber 
			  2007 
			 December 11.46 13.05 12.00 17.72 10.74 9.32 8.88 12.37 8.63 8.39 15.28 10.09 
			  2008 
			 January 12.05 13.82 12.50 17.72 11.54 10.19 9.50 13.00 9.33 9.06 15.59 10.59 
			 February 12.33 14.15 12.82 17.87 11.77 10.55 9.76 13.29 9.66 9.39 15.73 10.88 
			 March 12.32 14.08 12.89 17.80 11.80 10.52 9.68 13.54 9.69 9.34 15.51 10.95 
			 April 12.28 13.95 12.93 17.58 11.75 10.68 9.51 13.57 9.56 9.16 15.54 11.05 
			 May 12.30 14.01 13.03 17.69 11.73 10.62 9.46 13.56 9.58 9.08 15.44 11.14 
			 June 12.18 13.70 12.81 17.76 11.37 10.45 9.51 13.48 9.50 8.88 15.37 11.08 
			 July 12.54 13.66 13.21 17.89 11.62 11.00 9.87 13.83 9.94 9.30 15.63 11.65 
			 August 13.28 14.46 14.16 18.54 12.31 11.71 10.37 14.61 10.88 9.92 16.55 12.45 
			 September 13.66 14.98 14.49 19.03 12.83 12.11 10.25 15.29 11.30 10.22 16.99 12.89 
			 October 14.08 15.61 14.65 19.33 13.43 12.37 10.53 15.82 12.05 10.54 17.32 13.44 
			 November 15.29 17.30 15.96 20.10 14.61 13.20 11.50 17.82 13.60 11.63 18.67 14.62 
			  Notes:  Jobseeker's allowance data 1. Figures exclude clerical cases. 2. Data are published at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk  Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems (computer held cases only).  Jobcentre Plus total staffing numbers 3. A small number of staff have not been allocated to Government office region on the payroll system. These have been included in calculations for the total but not the individual regions.  Source: Data View (Payroll extract). 
		
	
	
		
			  Ratio of jobseeker's allowance claimants to  Jobcentre Plus personal advisers 
			   Total  East  East Midlands  London  North East  North West  Scotland  South East  South West  Wales  West Midlands  York s  and the Humber 
			  2007 
			 December 82.71 87.24 93.93 88.52 76.11 78.27 70.14 85.73 62.47 74.87 103.00 82.88 
			  2008 
			 January 86.88 92.37 98.01 88.58 80.60 84.00 75.98 89.98 67.98 81.09 106.87 86.89 
			 February 89.38 95.48 101.14 89.62 83.61 86.75 78.54 92.40 70.80 83.72 110.23 89.01 
			 March 89.46 96.24 101.86 89.17 85.73 87.07 78/71 91.97 69.86 83.74 108.97 89.40 
			 April 90.87 97.50 103.71 88.73 86.04 90.03 79.99 95.72 71.97 83.86 108.00 92.19 
			 May 90.19 96.09 103.23 89.30 84.56 88.25 78.85 95.55 72.43 82.53 106.36 92.19 
			 June 90.34 93.69 102.92 90.44 83.57 88.33 79.25 95.28 73.01 81.42 106.82 93.83 
			 July 93.22 95.30 105.58 92.54 85.64 92.64 80.50 95.88 77.86 86.06 110.84 98.07 
			 August 99.25 99.62 111.48 97.72 91.02 96.93 87.11 101.47 86.49 93.76 118.94 104.32 
			 September 99.92 100.44 110.03 98.82 92.15 96.23 85.67 103.04 88.95 96.12 119.64 106.25 
			 October 102.61 104.40 111.19 100.21 97.29 97.62 87.61 106.39 96.37 97.71 120.87 110.52 
			 November 111.62 114.40 123.68 104.58 106.82 105.08 94.59 122.12 111.07 106.95 129.95 118.83 
			  Notes:  Jobseeker's allowance data 1. Figures exclude clerical cases. 2. Data are published at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk  Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems (computer held cases only).  Jobcentre Plus  personal adviser staffing numbers  Source: Activity Based Management system.

Motability

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost of vehicle adaptations provided by the Motability scheme was in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: Motability is an independent charitable company and is responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme. As Motability provides many vehicle adaptations free of charge and the cost of others are met by a combination of the customers' own contribution and financial assistance from the scheme, it is not practical for Motability to produce a single average cost figure of vehicle adaptations.
	Further information about Motability can be obtained directly from the scheme at the following address:
	Declan O'Mahony
	Director and Chief Executive
	Motability
	Warwick House
	Roydon Road
	Harlow
	Essex
	CM19 5PX

New Deal for Lone Parents

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many individuals in each region have been on the New Deal for Lone Parents  (a) in each year since its inception and  (b) in each of the last eight quarters;
	(2)  how many 18 to 24 year olds in each region have been on the New Deal for Lone Parents  (a) in each year since its inception and  (b) in each of the last eight quarters.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 20 April 2009
	The information requested has been placed in the Library.

New Deal Schemes

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals have been on the  (a) new deal 25 plus,  (b) new deal 50 plus,  (c) new deal for partners,  (d) new deal for disabled people and  (e) new deal for musicians programmes in each region (i) in each year since their inception and (ii) in each of the last eight quarters.

Tony McNulty: The available information has been placed in the Library.
	New Deal for Musicians is an integral part of New Deal for Young People and New Deal 25 plus, and is not recorded separately.

New Deal Schemes: Young People

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals in each region were on the new deal for young people  (a) in each year since its inception and  (b) in each of the last eight quarters.

Tony McNulty: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Social Security Benefits: Disabled

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1793W, on incapacity benefit, how many claimants of both incapacity benefit and employment support allowance there were aged  (a) under 30 years and  (b) under 40 years categorised by the condition limiting their capability for work in the most recent year for which figure are available; and if he will set out on the same basis figures for those who have been in receipt of both benefits for five years or more.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP will be publishing National Statistics on Employment and Support Allowance in summer 2009. The available information has been placed in the Library.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what recent meetings with  (a) representatives of companies selling and  (b) independent experts on voice risk analysis technology (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in his Department have had in the last three years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what research his Department has  (a) undertaken,  (b) commissioned and  (c) evaluated on the effects of the use of voice risk analysis technology in benefit claim procedures on rates of error and fraud in such procedures;
	(3)  how many people have been prosecuted for benefit fraud as a result of information originally obtained using voice risk analysis technology since such technology was introduced; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many people have had the payment of a benefit terminated as a result of investigations triggered by indications of risk from voice risk analysis technology since the introduction of such technology; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  how many investigations of benefits claims have been instigated as a result of voice risk analysis technology providing an indication of risk since the introduction of such technology; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  in how many telephone conversations between benefits staff and claimants voice risk analysis technology has been deployed since the pilot introduction of such technology.

Jonathan R Shaw: In the last six months, there have been twice monthly telephone conversations between officials and the company selling the software to help ensure that the operation of the pilots runs smoothly. These are supplemented by face to face visits between officials and the company selling the software, and attendance at workshops as and when required.
	Previous Ministers attended presentations and events with representatives of the company selling the software on three occasions.
	There have been no meetings with independent experts in the field of voice risk analysis at this time.
	The Department's assessment of its voice risk analysis trials during 2007-08 in Jobcentre Plus and local authorities, and details of its evaluation methodology, has been made available. I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 19-20WS.
	The Department has not commissioned external research bodies at this time. Departmental statisticians are conducting the research and they are required to offer independent advice to support the policy formulation.
	At this stage, the Department has not estimated the impact of the rates of fraud and error detected or prevented via voice risk analysis on the national stock of fraud and error. Such estimates will be calculated should the voice risk analysis process prove effective at discriminating between high and low risk customers.
	The information from voice risk analysis calls was not used to prosecute customers for benefit fraud or terminate customer's benefits. In the pilots, voice risk analysis technology was used to trigger subsequent reviews of both high and low risk cases. As a result of these reviews, information could come to light that could lead to a prosecution or benefit termination but that decision would not rely on the results from the voice risk analysis call but on the information provided in the subsequent review.
	During the pilots, there were no prosecutions from any of the reviews exercises.
	The proportion of case changes are available across the pilots and have been previously reported. I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 19-20WS. However, the proportion of these case changes that were terminations is not reliably available across the first phase of pilots.
	There have been no benefit claim investigations instigated as a result of voice risk analysis. The information from voice risk analysis calls has not been used of itself to determine investigations of customers benefit. Voice risk analysis technology has been used to trigger subsequent reviews of both high and low risk cases and there were a total of 787 reviews in Jobcentre Plus and a further 1,998 reviews in local authorities.
	There were 1,676 telephone conversations between benefit staff and customers in Jobcentre Plus, of which a sample of 787 were reviewed and included in the final evaluation. From the first phase of local authority trials there were 6,816 telephone conversation between staff and customers, of which 1,998 were reviewed and included in the final evaluation.

State Retirement Pensions

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the number of individuals who will reach state pension age in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2015 and  (c) 2020 with no additional pension provision beyond the state pension.

Rosie Winterton: The Government are committed to encouraging people to save for the future in private pension arrangements. The introduction of auto-enrolment and Personal Accounts in 2012 will reinforce this commitment, encouraging individuals to contribute to their own future pension income. As a result, the number of individuals reaching state pension age with no private pension income is estimated to decline over the next 10 years.
	The number of individuals reaching state pension age (SPA) in 2010, 2015 and 2020 with no additional pension provision beyond that of the state (i.e. no private pension provision) is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Year SPA is reached  Number of individuals with no private pension income  Individuals with no private pension income as a percentage of all those reaching SPA (percentage) 
			 2010 200,000 25 
			 2015 150,000 22 
			 2020 100,000 17 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are for Great Britain and are rounded to the nearest 50,000. 2. There is considerable uncertainty over future estimates of private pension provision; the number of individuals choosing to save in a private pension may alter over time according to the macro-economic environment and individual circumstances and preferences. Therefore, the estimates should only be seen as indicative.  Source: DWP modelling

State Retirement Pensions

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people of working age in each age group without any form of pension saving outside the basic state pension in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is presented in the following tables.
	The introduction of auto-enrolment and personal accounts in 2012 is intended to increase private pension coverage by making it easier and more attractive for those workers not currently saving privately to do so. We estimate that between six to nine million people will be newly saving or saving more from the reforms.
	
		
			  Proportion of working age population contributing to a private pension by age, Great Britain 
			  Percentage 
			   20-29  30-39  40-49  50 to SPA  Total 
			 1999-2000 32 53 55 42 46 
			 2000-01 30 52 55 42 45 
			 2001-02 30 52 56 42 45 
			 2002-03 28 51 55 43 45 
			 2003-04 27 50 54 42 44 
			 2004-05 25 48 53 43 43 
			 2005-06 24 47 51 43 42 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of working age population contributing to a private pension by age, Great Britai n 
			  Million 
			   20-29  30-39  40-49  50 to SPA  Total 
			 1999-2000 2.3 4.7 4.1 3.5 14.5 
			 2000-01 2.2 4.6 4.1 3.5 14.5 
			 2001-02 2.2 4.6 4.3 3.6 14.7 
			 2002-03 2.0 4.5 4.3 3.7 14.6 
			 2003-04 1.9 4.4 4.3 3.7 14.3 
			 2004-05 1.8 4.1 4.2 3.8 13.9 
			 2005-06 1.7 4.0 4.2 3.8 13.7 
			  Notes: 1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). 2005-06 is the latest year for which these data are available. 2. Private pension refers to either an occupational, personal or stakeholder pension scheme. 3. Working age is 20 to state pension age (SPA); 20-59 for women and 20-64 for men. 4. FRS survey data are taken at a point in time. People who do not have private pension provision in a given year can save later on in life or may have had private pensions in the past.  Source:  Family Resources Survey, Great Britain, 1999-2000 to 2005-06.

Welfare Reform Bill

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely annual costs to  (a) his Department and  (b) other Government departments and agencies of the information sharing provisions in Schedule 3 of the Welfare Reform Bill.

Jonathan R Shaw: The details of the administrative and IT costs of data sharing are still under discussion with the Home Office and Ministry of Justice.